Falling Stars
by Wintermoth
Summary: If there was one thing Rose had refused to do upon becoming a time traveler, one place she would never set foot as long as she lived, it was the Titanic. (Voyage of the Damned rewrite, part 5 of the Starlight 'verse)
1. Bit of a Fender Bender

**STANDARD WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE ENTIRE STARLIGHT SERIES PUBLISHED UP TO THIS POINT, YOU WILL NOT GET IT. TURN BACK NOW.  
**

****Wow I've been meaning to post this since Christmas Eve. I fail. **Enjoy!**

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Just a bit of maintenance, he said. Won't take more than an hour or so. Done in a jiffy. Then his fingers slipped and he ended up damaging something important (and Rose's felt his mistake as a sharp pain in her stomach) that was going to take a lot of work to fix. That was a week ago. They'd been forcibly ejected from the vortex into what the ship considered a "safe zone" and now couldn't dematerialize. They'd been floating in Earth's orbit ever since.

After a week of being stuck inside and the Doctor devoting most of his time to the repairs, Rose was _bored._ She could barely convince him to leave his work even for meals and sleep. The only way to have any sort of company was to spend all day in the console room or his workroom, depending on what part of the process he was in. She'd convinced the TARDIS to place a comfy chair in the console room for her to sit in during her many hours there. She brought books, a portable DVD player, and a stack of DVDs to entertain herself with.

"Good news, Rose!" he crowed on the seventh day. "I'm almost finished!"

Rose was lounging on the chair in nothing but her knickers and a t-shirt. The climate control had been on the fritz since yesterday and she'd nearly overheated, she wasn't taking any chances. Besides, it'd been a long while since anyone had been with them and there was no one she had to worry about scandalizing. "Thank God," she groaned. "Can we _please_ go somewhere fun now?"

He poked his head out from the space beneath the grating where he was working and grinned at her. "As my lady wishes. Any request?"

She shrugged. "Nothing in particular."

He hummed thoughtfully then hefted himself out of the hole. He slid the grating panel back into place, wiped his hands on his trousers, then straightened up. She set her book down and watched him with a smile on her face. He'd forgone his suit about five days ago for a pair of jeans ("Only thing they're good for," he groused when she pointed out all the stains on them from his work) and a black t-shirt. His hair was tousled, like it had been smooshed several times and he'd run his fingers through it in agitation. It was sexy as hell.

He rotated his arms and did a few stretches—not even Time Lords could avoid stiff muscles after being crammed in tight spaces for hours. He bent over to stretch his back, giving her a nice view of his bum. She whistled.

The Doctor straightened up, feigning injury. "Rose Tyler, I am appalled!"

Her grin turned absolutely wicked. "Well, you're giving me such a view."

He shook his head and tisked. "For shame." But he couldn't keep the playful grin off his face and she caught a glimpse of it before he turned towards the console. "I've got the defenses back up so I'm gonna get those fired up before I finish off."

Rose folded the corner of the page she was in in her book then set it on the floor next to the chair and stood up. She reached her arms over her head in a long stretching, arcing her back as well. The Doctor's whistle echoed through the room.

"Oh, you!" she cried, dropping her arms.

Whatever he'd been planning on saying was lost in the deafening blare of a very large horn in close proximity. She whipped around towards the source of the noise just in time to see something large pierce the hull of the ship. Phantom pain spasmed through her side at the breach and she was knocked to the floor.

Over the years, Rose has learned to tell the difference between real pain and the phantom pains she received whenever extreme damage occurred to or an outside force affected the TARDIS. The phantom pains were intense in a very real way but they were different in the sense that wasn't ever a point worse than the others, no place that screamed _right here, this spot is the one that's been damaged! _The whole area hurt equally. It was a side effect of the bond she shared with the TARDIS. It could be both a blessing and a curse. The pains were a definite drawback but it could also serve as a warning of danger. In her mind, it was a small price to pay for what she got in return.

The horn continued blaring around them. Rose gasped in pain, clutching at her side where the phantom pain burned, propping herself up on her other arm. Dust and debris fell from the ceiling, littering her body and the floor, and she coughed when she felt some of it in her throat. "Doctor?" she called before coughing again.

"Are you okay?" he shouted.

The horn blared again and she jumped, flopping back onto her back. Looming above her through a very painful tear in the ship's hull was a…ship's…hull?

"What the hell?!" she shrieked and the Doctor echoed her a second after.

Rose scrambled backwards—another difference between her phantom pains and real pains: she could move the affected area just fine without any added discomfort—and her hand made contact with something cold and solid that was most definitely not part of the TARDIS. She turned around.

It was a life preserver. The frayed fastenings hanging from it indicated it had been hanging off the ship when it crashed into the room. The Doctor appeared kneeling on the other side of the ring and flipped it over. The name _TITANIC _was printed in thick black letters along the top and bottom.

They looked up at each other, eyes wide and mouths agape. "What?" he cried.

Rose just shook her head.


	2. Bit of Party

**Fun times before the badness :D**

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Fifteen minutes wasn't a lot of time to get ready but, damn it, if the Doctor could do it then so could she.

Christmas, a spaceship called _Titanic_, and early 1900s dress. Easily done. Bit weird, though. The Doctor had managed to gather that they were on an intergalactic cruise before sneaking back onboard. That was legitimate enough. But what were the odds that the ship happened to have the same name as the ship best known on the planet below for its tragedy? Celebrating Christmas was easy enough to work out: they were sampling the local culture. The outdated clothing could be due to a number of things, but Rose suspected it was because they'd first discovered this planet in the 1920s and just assumed that was what humans wore these days.

She chose a deep green evening gown from the Edwardian section of the wardrobe and a pair of dangling gold earrings. While she didn't expect trouble, something about boarding a ship called _Titanic _was enough to make her a bit paranoid. She opted to wear flats instead of heels. She didn't have time to really do much with her hair so she just used her hairstyler to put waves in her hair then pulled it into a bun at the nape of her neck. Not exactly Edwardian but those people wouldn't be well enough educated in the customs of Earth to know. She applied a minimal amount of makeup, adjusted her necklace, slipped a gold bangle around her wrist, then breezed out of the loo.

The Doctor was already ready and waiting in the console room wearing his black suit and, of course, the black converse. Not that she'd expect anything different from him after nine and a half years.

"You look lovely," he told her and held out his arm. "Shall we?"

Rose reached up to straighten his tie and smoothed down the shoulders of his jacket. Then she looped her arm through his and they strode out of the TARDIS. In true Doctor fashion, they had materialized inside a storage cupboard. He opened the door and they stepped out into what looked like a lobby.

The room was made of rich wood paneling and the carpets were extravagant. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the sparse furniture in the room was antique. If Rose didn't know any better, she'd think she was on the actual _Titanic_. Wreaths, candles, tinsel, figurines, and other holiday decorations adorned the room, along with (oddly enough) potted palms. Standing on the far side of the room were two angelic figures with gold faces, wings, and halos.

The people looked entirely human, from their bodies to their skin tones, but she knew they couldn't be. Just another example of a race that had gone through a similar evolution to humans and the real differences would be in the biology. Their clothing couldn't have been Earth-made but it was entirely Earth-inspired, just like the Doctor had said.

"Merry Christmas!" a passing crewman bade them. He was even dressed like one of the original _Titanic_ crewmen would've been.

"And you," Rose replied with a smile.

From one of the adjoining rooms they could hear music playing. They stepped inside and were greeted with a party. This room was similar to the one before in style but this one was decorated even more than the other. Strings of lights hung from the ceiling and the potted palms were nowhere in sight, instead there Christmas trees decked with tinsel and baubles. Even more of the peculiar angels were in here and some of them were actually moving.

There was a buffet along one wall and a number of round tables were nearby, some with people, some empty. People milled around the room conversing with each other. There was a small dance floor in front of a stage where I live orchestra played and a woman sang _Winter Wonderland._

The Doctor looked down at Rose and she grinned at him. They strode into the room, arm in arm. "It's beautiful," she said. "You're sure this isn't the real thing?"

"Bet me life," he replied and pointed to the nearest porthole. Outside she could see the blackness of space and far-off twinkling stars.

"But why?" she asked.

"Let's find out."

The Doctor guided her over to another adjacent room. This one was less crowded and less decorated but there was an ice sculpture in the shape of a ship with lights inside the ice. Near it was a screen surrounded by an ornate wooden frame bearing the company logo. _Max Capricorn Cruise Liners._

Oh. Well that made sense.

The Doctor tapped the screen with his finger and the logo unraveled, the video of a bald man with a thin mustache sitting behind a desk.

"_Max Capricorn Cruiseliners—the fastest, the farthest…the best._" The man proclaimed. There was something about his nasally, smug tone that made Rose frown. _ "And I should know because…"_ It zoomed in on his face_. "My name is Max."_ He grinned, revealing a gold tooth that actually glinted, before the logo returned.

"Well, that was unhelpful," she muttered. "And vaguely creepy."

The Doctor hummed in agreement. "Time to try something else then."

They returned to the main room and two stewards wished them a merry Christmas as they went. It really was quite a party she had to admit. Someone had definitely done their research on Christmas. Rose wondered if this was the first Christmas cruise and, if not, just how long had they been having these little events? By the TV signals she'd picked up from Earth earlier that week, she guessed they were in 2008. She knew for a fact there couldn't have been one in 2006 with the Sycorax inbound and the planet on high alert—any alien ships in Earth's airspace would've been attacked.

A man in a tuxedo cut in front of their path. He was talking rudely into the mobile he had pressed to his ear. "Now do as I say and sell," he ordered before walking away.

The Doctor let go of Rose and she felt him step away. "Evening," he said. She turned. He was talking to one of the angels. "Passenger 57. Terrible memory. Remind me. Uh, you would be…?"

The angel dinged and replied in a deep cybernetic voice. "Information: Heavenly Host supplying tourist information."

Rose was taken slightly aback. Well, at least they could get answers now.

"Good," the Doctor said, recovering quickly. "So, um…tell me, 'cos I'm an idiot—where are we from?"

The Host dinged again. "Information: the _Titanic_ is en route from the planet Sto in the Cassavalian Belt. The purpose of the cruise is to experience primitive cultures."

"Primitive?" Rose demanded. "Earth isn't primitive."

"Information: According to the Intergalactic Code of Planetary Evolvement, Earth is considered a Level Five planet. Primitive."

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. Primitive her arse. Sure the Earth during the 21st century wasn't exactly a shining model of civilization but it was miles better than other places she'd been to.

"Yeah, but, um _Titanic_," the Doctor said. "Um…who thought of the name?

"Information: it was chosen as the most famous vessel of the planet Earth."

"Did they tell you why it was famous?"

"Information: all designations are chosen by Mr. Max Capricorn, president of Max—Max—Max—" The Host's head began twitching to the side and it kept saying the name Max over and over, its voice fluctuating up and down in pitch.

The Doctor took a step back, reaching for the sonic screwdriver inside his jacket. "Ooh, bit of a glitch."

But before he could properly get the sonic out, a steward hurried over. "Step back, sir, we can handle this." He waved to someone else for help and two other stewards hurried over. They seized the Host and it seemed to struggle against them for a moment before being forcibly powered down.

"Softwate problem, that's all," the steward explained with an apologetic smile on his face. The other stewards began dragging the Host away. "Leave it with us, sir, ma'am. Merry Christmas!" He gave a little bow then hurried away with the other stewards.

The Doctor turned to Rose, eyebrows raised, and she shrugged. "Software malfunction."

"Yeah," he said dubiously. Then he shook his head. "Come on, let's go see what they've got for nibbles."

A dark-haired, dark-eyed waitress in a crisp black and white uniform greeted them when they arrived at the buffet table. "Merry Christmas!" she said.

"Merry Christmas," the Doctor and Rose echoed cheerfully.

"Feel free to help yourselves. Everything is Earth cuisine made with authentic Earth ingredients."

"Really?" Rose asked. How had they managed that?

"Yes, ma'am," the woman replied. "Each dish is labeled." She gestured to the card in front of the plate nearest to her. "But, if you're not feeling adventurous tonight, there are some dishes from home as well."

They thanked her and picked up their plates, moving down the line. Some of their selections weren't very Christmas-y—they had a tray of buffalo wings—and some were more appropriate, like casseroles and a roast turkey. Why on Earth they had baklava, though, was a mystery. A tasty mystery. The Sto section was small and it didn't look like many people had been eating from it. The Doctor piled one of everything onto his plate to sample before letting her try anything. He didn't know Sto all that well and hadn't a clue as to their biology and what might be a harmless delicacy to them could be fatal to Rose. To drink they had a selection of wines, juices, eggnog, cider, and lemonade.

The Doctor found himself fascinated in a conversation and when he decided to chime in, Rose wandered off towards the band. She spotted a small red alien with darker spikes protruding from it head dancing amongst the Stoans. She thought it was a child at first, then she saw his face and realized he was an adult. No one seemed bothered by his appearance, which meant Sto had to have good relations and frequent contact with other species, like Earth would be in a few centuries.

The shattering of glass behind her caused Rose to turn. She quickly located the source just a few meters away. The rude man with the mobile and a blonde waitress were looking down at a tray and shattered glasses on the floor.

"For Tov's sake!" he exclaimed. "Look where you're going! This jacket's a genuine Earth antique!"

The poor waitress looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there in that moment. "I'm sorry sir," she apologized then knelt to clean up the mess. Rose felt her feet carrying her towards the confrontation without her permission.

"You'll be sorry when it comes off your wages, sweetheart," he snapped. "Staffed by idiots!"

"Leave off," Rose said, stepping up next to the woman. "She said it was sorry."

"Mind your own business."

She glared at him. "It is my business. I saw the whole thing. So busy talkin' on your mobile, not lookin' around, _you_ bumped into _her_!"

"I'll say again, stay out of affairs that don't concern you, woman. "

"That's _Dame_, actually," she corrected hotly. "Your jacket's fine. Try garnishing her wages and I'll tell them what really happened. They might even make you pay for the broken glasses, which can't be cheap, I'm sure, seeing as they're Earthen antiques themselves."

He sneered at them. "Staffed by idiots, catering to all sorts of riff-raff. No wonder Max Capricorn is going down the drain." With that, he stormed off.

"And yet, he's here," Rose said. Then she knelt down next to the woman and set her own plate aside.

"Thank you," the blonde murmured as she gathered up the little pieces. "You didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, I did." Rose began picking up the pieces she could see and dropping them on the tray.

"I can manage."

"I know." Rose dumped another few pieces onto the tray. "'M Rose."

"Astrid, ma'am. Astrid Peth." And the woman smiled for the first time.

"Nice ta meet ya. Although, really, don't call me ma'am. Just Rose. I don't like playing the title card but he was being a bastard. You don't need someone like him ruining your Christmas."

Astrid seemed surprised and another, prettier smile spread across her face. "So, you enjoying the cruise?"

"Oh, yeah. I mean, so far. Tell you what, though, this is not a half bad Christmas party."

Astrid got to her feet and Rose picked up her plate then followed suit. "Oh? You been to many Christmas parties?"

Rose nodded. "Oh, loads. Most of them right down there on Earth."

Astrid's eyes grew very round. "You've been to Earth?"

"Yeah. A few times. The cruise sort of…took us by surprise and—" she shrugged "—y'know, we thought 'Why not?'"

"You're lucky," Astrid told her. She glanced around then leaned in, lowering her voice. "I spent three years working at the space port diner, travelled all the way here…I thought, hey, new skies, new ground beneath my feet…and instead all I'm doing is waiting tables."

Her mouth twisted into a half-arsed attempt at a smile then she walked off. Rose felt a twinge of empathy. She wasn't about to let her go that easy.

"Well, cruises usually dock, let people disembark," Rose said. "Can't you just, I don't know, pop down for a visit?"

Astrid began picking glasses off an empty table by one of the portholes. "No. We're not allowed. They can't afford the insurance."

"Blimey, all this way and it's a little thing like insurance what stops you."

"Yeah. I just wanted to try it, just once. I used to watch the ships heading off to the stars and I always dreamt of…" She shook her head. "It sounds daft."

Rose shook her head. "No. Not at all. I was like you, once. Then I met my husband and he took me away from my boring life. He showed me the stars, worlds you can't even imagine, and worlds you can but are still more than you'd believe. So many civilizations, people, places… They're all out there, somewhere, waiting." Rose glanced down at Earth, visible through the window. "I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'll never go back."

Astrid shook her head, like pulling herself out of a daze. "So, you're a traveller, then?"

"Yeah, me and my husband. Oh…." She trailed off, recognizing the small tickle in her mind that meant the Doctor was trying to locate her via telepathy.

_Rose, where'd you go?_

They had managed to establish a permanent connection between their minds years ago, some time after Martha left. Rose had plenty of latent telepathic ability in her mind—a leftover of Bad Wolf—and between the two of them, they'd managed to create a telepathic bond. It wasn't perfect. Rose's mind was strong but her brain was still human and there was only so much she could do. While inside the TARDIS, the ship was able to provide assistance to Rose so she and the Doctor had a perfect two-way communication. Outside the TARDIS, Rose could hear clearly, but sometimes found it difficult to talk back.

Fortunately, she'd had plenty of experience with Torchwood and during that awful year communicating telepathically and knew what she had to do—it was just a matter of _doing_ it. It took focus and effort. They had a distance limit of about five kilometers under normal circumstances and since they were rarely farther apart than that, it was enough.

_I'm over here by the window_, Rose thought. _Across from the band._

"Oh?" Astrid prompted.

"Here he comes." Rose nodded to the figure of the Doctor who had located her and was making his way across the room. Astrid followed her gaze and grinned.

"Ooh. He's a bit nice."

"I know," Rose giggled. "_Great_ hair, too. I mean, look at it."

"I am. Let me guess, rich as a king?"

"Actually, no." Rose shook her head. "We haven't a pound, either of us."

Astrid turned to her, confused. "But you're…how did you afford this cruise? First class tickets cost more than my wages for the whole trip."

"Well…you might say…we weren't exactly…invited to this party… On account of us not officially being passengers."

Her mouth widened into a disbelieving smile. "Kidding."

"Nope."

"No!" She grinned then looked around to make sure no one overhead. "How'd you get on board?"

"Our ship. The Doctor was working on it, our defenses were down and so the _Titanic_ sort of, y'know, just bumped into us. We thought it was a pretty fair trade: the scare of our recent lives for a nice party."

Astrid smirked. "I should report you."

"Report her for what?" The Doctor asked, close enough to have heard Astrid's last statement.

"Oh…nothing," she answered. "Fancy a drink, you two? On the house."

With a secretive smile in Rose's direction, she headed off to do just that. Rose giggled quietly and the Doctor rested on the edge of the table.

"What was all that about?"

"Oh, nothing." She grinned cheekily at him and strode away. The Doctor caught up with her easily.

"Come on, now, don't leave me hanging." He nudged her with his elbow. "Who's your new friend?"

"Astrid. Young girl with the stars in her eyes, took a job to see space, isn't actually getting to see space. Stuck waiting tables, serving drinks, and taking abuse from rich men who can't watch where they're going."

"Hmm." He in the direction Astrid had gone. "Trip worthy, do you think?"

"Ooh," she drawled, puckering her lips. "Ma-a-aybe. But Doctor, do you think you could handle _two _blondes on the TARDIS?"

"I've managed just fine in the past."

Cacophonous laughing erupted from a nearby table. Turning to look, the pair of them saw a group of finely-dressed folks with wine glasses who's mocking laughs and finger-pointing seemed to be directed towards a plump couple dressed in purple American Western getups. The woman, whose dark hair was in an outlandish updo, seemed to realize she was being mocked.

Rose saw the Doctor's back and realized he was already heading for their table. Rose set her empty plate down on a nearby tray and followed.

"Just ignore 'em," the black man told his wife.

The Doctor slid easily into one of the seats across from them. "Something's tickled them."

"They told us it was fancy dress," the woman explained and gestured to their clothing. "Very funny, I'm sure."

Rose eased herself down into the chair next to the Doctor. "Now why would they do that?"

"They're pickin' on us because we haven't paid." The man shot the group at the table a brief look. "We won our tickets in a competition." He pointed to his wife proudly. "She did all the work, though."

"I had to name the five husbands of Joofie Crystalle in _By the Light of the Asteroid._" She smiled proudly. At their blank looks, she asked, "Do you ever watch _By the Light of the Asteroid_?"

"I think I might have." Rose said.

The Doctor looked up thoughtfully. "Isn't that the one with the twins?"

"That's it!" She confirmed. "Oh, it's marvelous."

"But we're not good enough for that lot." He jabbed his thumb in the direction of the laughing table. "They think we should be in steerage."

_Very classist society_, Rose thought in the Doctor's direction.

He reached inside his jacket and pulled out the sonic. "Well, can't have that, can we?" He held it just under the crook of his arm and the couple leaned around him to see what he was going to do.

Rose heard the whirl of the sonic and a grin stretched across her face. Behind her, there was a loud _POP_, the sound of liquid spraying, and the people at the table screamed. The wine spray died down and a look of surprised disbelief spread across the woman's face.

"Did—did you do that?" she asked, pointing.

"Maybe," the Doctor replied as he stowed the sonic. They laughed together and the man applauded.

"Oh, we like you," the woman chuckled.

"We do," her husband agreed. Then he held out his hand. "I'm Morvin van Hoff." The Doctor shook his hand then Rose did as well. "This is my good woman, Foon."

"Foon!" the Doctor repeated, trying out the name. They both leaned across the table to shake hands. "Hello, I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose. My wife," he added.

Rose shook Foon's hand. She and her husbands had warm hands—warmer than a human's. She wondered if that was a Stoan thing.

"Nice to meet you both." Foon said. "You're welcome with us anytime. Have a buffalo wing." She gestured to the bowl of them in front of her. They each took one. "They must be enormous, these buffalo, so many wings."

"Well, actually," Rose started to say but she was cut off by an announcement on the PA. (Definitely not the real _Titanic, _then.)

"_Attention please. Shore leave tickets Red 6-7 now activated. Red 6-7."_

"Oooh!" Foon reached inside her shirt and pulled out a red ticket. "Red 6-7. That's us!" The two of them got to their feet eagerly. "Are you Red 6-7?"

The Doctor and Rose glanced at each other. _You up for it?_ he asked.

Rose grinned at the Stoan couple. "As a matter of fact, we are!"

"Come on, then!" Morvin put his arm around his wife's waist "We're going to Earth!"

The two couples made their way through the crowds. Morvin and Foon did an excellent job of parting the crowd with their larger forms and Rose and the Doctor made sure to keep close, lest they be cut off. And they had no idea where they were going. The Van Hoffs lead them into another side room, far less crowded than others. An older man in tweed stood near a podium with a red 6-7 sign held over his head. A small crowd had gathered around him.

"Red 6-7!" he shouted. "Red 6-7, this way! Fast as you can!"

It was then that Astrid made her reappearance with a two drinks on her tray and a bright smile on her face. "I got you those drinks!"

Rose made a split second decision and grabbed Astrid's (warm) arm. "And I got you something better."

The Doctor, catching on, took the tray from the woman's hands and set it on the table behind him. Rose tugged Astrid's arm before releasing and the woman followed them over a few feet to the crowd.

"We're Red 6-7," the Doctor said, holding up the psychic paper. "Plus one."

"Uh…" The man seemed to hesitate then simply nodded. "Quickly, sir, please take three teleport bracelets, if you would."

The Doctor leaned forward to get three bracelets from the steward handing them out. He handed one to Rose and she slipped it on, then he held the other out to Astrid. She didn't take it.

"I'll get the sack!" she whispered.

"A new world…" Rose sing-songed and the Doctor held it up to her face.

A grin stretched across her lips and Astrid snatched the bracelet from his hand, slipping it onto her wrist.

The old man, who had just introduced himself as Mr. Copper, the ship's historian, was explaining their destination. "…taking you to old London town in the country of U.K. ruled over by Good King Wenceslas."

Rose's eyes widened and she nudged the Doctor.

"Now, human beings worship the great god Santa," he explained, "a creature with fearsome claws, and his wife Mary."

Rose mashed her lips together to stop herself from laughing. Everyone else seemed enraptured except for the Doctor, who had one eyebrow arched and looked mildly concerned.

"And every Christmas Eve, the people of U.K. go to war with the country of Turkey. They then eat the Turkey people for Christmas dinner." Morvin and Foon glanced at each other apprehensively. "Like savages."

Rose just about lost it. Thankfully, the Doctor chose to speak up then and Rose was able to muffle her laughter in a cough. "Excuse me, sorry, sorry, but, um…" he scratched at his sideburn with one finger. "Where did you get all this from?"

"Well," Mr. Copper said, "I have a first class degree in Earthonomics."

"Quack," Rose coughed and the Doctor elbowed her.

"Now stand by…"

"AND ME! AND ME!" A high-pitched cybernetic voice called. The crowd turned and saw the tiny red spiked alien running towards them. "Red 6-7!"

"Well, take a bracelet, sir," Copper instructed, looking vaguely uncomfortable.

Rose's eyes widened. Oh, he couldn't go down to Earth! Even in London—or, well,_ especially _in London—the sight of him would cause panic. Or people would tell him he'd missed Halloween. One or the other.

This seemed to occur to the Doctor at exactly the same time. "Uh, but, um…hold on, hold on. What was your name?"

"Bannakaffalatta."

"…OK, Bannakaffalatta. But it's Christmas Eve down there. Late-night shopping, tons of people. He's like a walking conker." Bannakaffalatta whirled around indignantly. The Doctor winced. "No offence, but you'll cause a riot 'cause the streets are going to be packed with shoppers and parties…"

But the crew wasn't listening. No one was going to be discriminated based on looks. Rose felt a cool tingle wash over her and the _Titanic _melted away. There was a moment of darkness and then they were in the middle of a street. An empty…street. In London. At Christmas.

"Oh," the Doctor said, realizing.

The pair of them were instantly on alert. While the rest of then saw nothing untoward about the emptiness, both of them knew this was about as abnormal as it got. She didn't recognize the street but the shops lining either side meant that it should be crowded. If not crowded then at least populated.

Then she noticed Astrid's face and there was a look she knew well. She'd seen it on faces before and she'd worn it herself. The sheer wonder as someone realized they were standing on a new planet for the first time.

"—don't stray too far," Copper was warning, "it could be dangerous. Any day now they start boxing." With that and a wave of his hands, he dismissed them to wander about.

"It should be full," the Doctor murmured. "It should be busy. Something's wrong."

"But it's beautiful," Astrid sighed.

"Beautiful?" Rose glanced around again. "You think so?"

The Doctor turned to face her. "There are so many beautiful places on this planet. The pyramids, New Zealand…this country has a few as well."

"But this ain't one of 'em."

"It's a different planet!" she cried, taking her first steps. "I'm standing on a different planet! Th-ther'es concrete…and shops! Alien shops!" She hopped and whirled around. "Real alien shops!" She looked up and pointed at the sky. "Look, no stars in the sky." Astrid lowered her arm. "And it smells. …It stinks!"

"Yep," Rose agreed. "That's London."

"This is amazing!" she squealed and threw her arms around them both. "Thank you! Thank you!"

"Yeah," the Doctor said cheerfully. "Come on then, let's have a look."

He grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her towards a newsstand where a single old man sat inside. Astrid followed quickly behind.

The man was all bundled up against the cold, a red hat with mistletoe pinned to it on his head. He was staring at the small red telly next to him.

"Hello there!" the Doctor greeted loudly. "Sorry, uh, obvious question, but where's everybody gone?"

The man chortled. "Oh ho! Scared!"

"Right, yes. …Scared of what?"

"Where have you been living?" He looked at the blank faces. "London at Christmas? Not safe, is it?"

Rose cocked her head to the side.

"Why?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, it's them, up above." The main pointed skywards. All three of them looked skywards. Did someone know the _Titanic _was up there? "Look, Christmas last we had that big bloody spaceship, everyone standing on the roof." He pointed to his telly screen where there was footage of the Sycorax ship above London. Then it changed to the Racnoss web-star firing on the city. "And then last year, that Christmas Star electrocuting all over the place. Draining the Thames." He pointed in the direction of the river.

"This place is amazing," Astrid murmured.

Rose glanced down at one of the newspapers on the stand to confirm the date. It was 2008. _Oh, wow, blimey._ The Doctor had thought they were somewhere around 2020. They'd spent Christmas with Jack this year (three years ago for them), picking him up from Cardiff on Christmas Eve and returning him the next evening (two days later for them.) Beyond that, she knew nothing of how Christmas this year turned out.

"And this year, God knows what. So everybody's scarpered, gone to the country. Al except me…" He gestured to himself firmly then glanced at the TV. "And her majesty."

The man got to his feet as the reporter on screen announced,_ "__Her Majesty the Queen has confirmed that she will be staying in Buckingham Palace throughout the festive season to show the people of London, and the world, that there's nothing to fear."_

"God bless her," the man said proudly and saluted. "We stand vigil."

"Right on." Rose nodded.

"Yeah, I think her Majesty's got it right," the Doctor agreed. "As far as I remember, this year, nothing to worry about."

And then the man called Wilfred Mott watched as, before his eyes, the three people were enveloped in a strange blue light. With a humming zap, they disappeared. The few nearby conversations he'd heard in the background vanished in the same instant. He glanced around, mouth agape, just to confirm they had all gone. He looked skyward and saw nothing but, oh, blast. Were the aliens abducting people now?

He collapsed back into his chair. "Then again…"

* * *

**WIIIILLLLLLLFFFFFFFFFFFFFF  
**


	3. Bit of a Collision

**Bananakaffawhonow?**

* * *

Half an hour later, the party was still in full swing and the members of Red 6-7 had rejoined it. Including Astrid, who'd apparently had the time of her life during those few minutes on Earth. Rose didn't know whether to be happy or sad for her. Every so often Astrid would catch her or the Doctor's eyes as she served drinks and beam at them. Morvin and Foon, disappointed about their trip cut-short, had returned to their table and resumed their feast. Bannakaffa_whawha_ was killing it (if the reactions of the people around him were anything to go by) on the dance floor.

Rose wanted to rejoin the party but something was itching at her. The malfunctioning Host—she'd witnessed two more carried off in the time since their aborted shore leave—and the increased wariness and anxiousness of the Chief Steward. The "power fluctuations" they claimed had caused them to be beamed back up. What sort of power fluctuations were strong enough to do that while not affecting anything else? No, no, something was going on. Or something was about to go on.

It figured, of course. They were on the bloody Starship _Titanic_. Instinct said they should flee but she couldn't leave these people behind. And there was a risk something could happen to planet Earth as well, they were so close. Perhaps she should give UNIT a ring? Or Martha…?

The Doctor was similarly on edge. They didn't have to be communicating telepathically for her to know. After nearly a decade, she knew how to read the tiniest twitches in his jaw, the tightening around his eyes, the shifting of his weight, and the movement in his hands for what they were. While to others he may seem closed off or at ease, she could see through the façade. He was worried.

She left him to get a round of those free drinks they'd been promised by the Steward for their shore leave being cut short. When she came back, he'd gone and defaced the ship. He had one of those portraits playing the Max Capricorn promo on loop pulled away from the wall, like a door. The portrait itself wasn't playing the promo, either, but instead showed some sort of scanner feed. There was an active sonar sweep on the top, a rotating model of the ship, and a red flashing alert that warned: _SHIELDS OFF-LINE._

He looked out the window and she saw him stiffen. She couldn't see much of his face but what she saw looked panicked.

_Oh, no. No, no, no. Rose, get to the TARDIS. Grab Astrid, the Van Hoffs, and b__**go**__./b_

The urgency and fear in his tone was enough to throw her off. It took her a second to get the message through. _Why?!_

_There's meteors incoming and the shields are down. Unless they get put back online—you know what'll happen. Go!_

_I'm not leaving y—_

The Doctor looked at her over his shoulder, teeth bared, eyes alight. _DO IT_,he yelled and the cry resonated through her mind like a gunshot in a small space. It was enough to trigger the instinctive response to danger within her. The Bad Wolf woke up. As she reflexively flinched from the emotion in his mind, on his face, the glasses fell from her hands, a spark _zinged_ through her veins and she could feel the energy within her, ready to bend to her will and serve her. By the time she realized what she was doing, her feet were already carrying her away from him.

The world sharpened into extreme clarity. She could see details she would otherwise miss, hear the hum of the ship around her more distinctly. She could feel time moving around and through her, sense a pivotal moment in the timeline approaching rapidly.

Rose weaved through the crowd of Stoans, trying to be discreet—as discreet as someone with glowing eyes could be. A man laughed jovially and leaned back with the force of it. She shoved him out of the way without thought, paying his indignant cry no mind. She was starting to become frantic when she located Astrid in the midst of the tables with her tray in her hands.

"Astrid!" she called. "Astrid!"

Astrid turned with another winning smile on her face that quickly fell away when she saw Rose's face. "What's wrong—"

"You've got to come with me," Rose interrupted, seizing the tray from her hands, and set it on the table. "Right now."

Astrid's brow furrowed. "Why are your eyes—?"

"Never mind that. Do you trust me?"

"I…suppose, yes."

"Then, listen to me, and come on." She grabbed Astrid's hand and pulled her through the crowd. She felt Astrid stumble behind her but, thankfully, she didn't fall.

_Where are you?_ the Doctor asked.

_Got Astrid, getting the Van Hoffs,_ she replied immediately. She'd always found talking telepathically easier when she was in this state. _You?_

_The _b_**damned**_/b_ Stewards are hauling me out._

Rose skidded to a halt and Astrid bumped into her. She steadied them both and then looked around for the commotion hauling the Doctor off would cause. _Want help?_

_Almost free—GO!_

Rose scurried around the next few tables, not bothering to check Astrid was following. Foon looked up and saw her coming. "What's got you in a hurry?" Foon twittered. "Sit down, try some of the—"

"Get up," Rose barked as she marched around the last table between them. "Both of you get up now and come on."

"What's going on?" Morvin asked, taken aback by her tone.

"We need to get somewhere safe."

"Why?"

It was at that moment when the Doctor's voice suddenly shouted through the speakers. "Everyone, listen to me!" The music tapered off as the band stared at their intruder in confusion. Most of the room turned to see what the sudden fuss was. "This is an emergency!" One of the Host approached from behind. "Get to the life—"

The Host covered his mouth and restrained him while the Stewards rushed up. They seized his arms once again, forced him off stage, and through the partygoers. All the while he shouted for people to look out the widows. He sounded a bit mad. The music resumed, with the singer apologizing for their interruption, and the guests laughed off the strange man's antics.

Rose didn't like seeing her husband manhandled and normally would rush to liberate him but he'd charged her with saving the three people they'd befriended. So she bit back the growl of anger building in her throat and turned to them. "There's a meteor storm heading this way," she explained bluntly. "The ship's shields are down. I can save you if you come with me."

The Van Hoff's eyes widened and with a glance at each other, they scrambled to their feet. Rose raced off in hot pursuit of the stewards and her posse hurried behind. A few people blocked her path but one glance at her face had them scrambling out of the way. They caught up to the Stewards in the reception.

"If you don't believe me, check the shields yourself!" the Doctor snarled at them.

"Where do you think you're taking my husband?" she demanded in her most authoritative, lady-of-high-class tone. "Release him at once and do as he says!"

"Please, sir, I can vouch for him!" Astrid cried.

"Look, Steward, he's just had a bit too much to drink!" Morvin tried to reason with the Chief Steward, placing his hand on his shoulder.

They were all ignored.

"Sir," Copper said as they passed his podium, "something seems to have gone wrong. All the teleports are down."

"Not now!" the Chief Steward snapped.

"Let him go!" Rose demanded.

The stewards continued to ignore their protests. At some point, Bannakaffiewhatna joined the precession, his high-pitched cries further adding to the cacophony of voices. Rose tried throwing herself in front of the stewards and was subsequently restrained by a third steward that happened to be passing by. This only further agitated the Doctor who alternated between telling them to check the shields and to let her go (with an alien explicative thrown in once or twice). The stewards lead them into the maintenance corridors, probably heading towards some sort of holding cell.

"The shields are down, we are going to get hit!" The Doctor screamed over everyone else talking around him.

It was right around this time that Rose had had enough. She slammed her foot down onto that of her captor and then when his grip loosened, she jerked free to elbow him in the solar plexus. Spinning around, she punched him square in the nose and sent him sprawling. She leaped away from him, landing lightly on the balls of her feet with ease.

"Madam!" The Chief Steward exclaimed.

"Listen to him!" She screeched twice as loudly. "Or we're all going to _die_!"

"Oi! Steward!" The rude man Rose had told off earlier shouted from behind them, evidentially having followed their strange parade. "I'm telling you the shields are down!"

The Doctor turned to the Chief Steward. "Listen to him! LISTEN TO HIM!"

The TARDIS cried out in her mind and the world seemed to slow. Rose felt the breath rush out of her as she exhaled and heard the Doctor's sharp intake as he, too, registered the ship's panic. Their eyes met.

Then came the impact.

The ship vibrated and rocked violently as one after the other the meteorites crashed into the hull with force enough to shatter it and the floating hunk of metal was bent and shocked beyond what it was designed for. They lost their balance and stumbled around, trying to keep upright, side to side, back and forth, up became down then up again. Sparks flew, alarms blared, and parts around them burst into flames. Rose fell to her knees and tried to push herself back up and felt the Doctor grab onto her protectively, and she clung to him for dear life. Pain seared through her leg as the ship shuddered again. The Doctor gave her a hard shove forwards and she stumbled, falling to the floor. The next second he was covering her body with his own and then an intense heat flared up behind them.

As quickly as it began, the tumult was over.

Around them the survivors moaned and called out for each other. Rose lay there on the floor, breathing heavily. There was a searing pain in her leg and though she felt the warmth of healing rushing to it, it wasn't taking hold. She moaned softly and gritted her teeth. That was never good. She saw the Doctor get up and her eyes followed his movements warily.

"Shhhh!" he urged loudly until everyone quieted. A few seconds passed in relative silence. "It's stopping," he murmured.

Rose started to push herself up but as she moved her leg, pain flared, white hot through her. Real pain. She let out a quiet wail of agony that earned her the Doctor's undivided attention. She looked down at her leg and saw a large piece of shrapnel sticking out of it, having torn through her dress as well.

"Oh, fuck," she gasped.

"Oh, no, no, there, there," the Doctor soothed, kneeling beside her. He helped her sit up, careful not to move her leg. "How deep is it?"

Rose grunted. "Not very. Don't think it hit the bone. Gonna—_ah _—need you to pull it out. Don't want to waist energy to get rid of it."

The Doctor nodded once and gently released Rose, waiting to see if she could support herself before shifting himself around and down her body. He braced on hand against her knee and gripped the shrapnel in his other. Rose hissed and grit her teeth, screaming when he _tugged_. Her leg burned in protest as the foreign object further agitated the damaged tissue but the moment it was free, the burn was replaced by the much cooler soothe of her regenerative energy. The Doctor tossed the offending object aside.

Rose panted for a few moments until the pain subsided, gone as if it had never been there, except for the lingering faint ache. Her body still, even after all these years, wasn't sure how to handle such rapid healing. It might never figure it out but she could live with that. At least her body had learned to deal with the sudden changes in energy and she didn't weaken as severely as she used to.

The Doctor helped her to her feet and realized that everyone was staring at her with varying degrees of shock and awe. Her scream must've drawn their attention. Bannawhatsitsface, Morvin, Foon, Astid, Copper, the Chief Steward, and the rude man were all alive. Two of the stewards, including the one she'd punched, lay unmoving on the ground.

The Chief Steward recovered first. "L-Ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta, I m-must apologize on behalf of Capricorn Cruiseliners. We—"

"Oh, shut it," the Doctor snapped. "If you'd just listened to me you might've been able to stop this. Thanks to you, hundreds of people are probably dead or dying! Everyone's lives are at stake here and, quite possibly, the lives on the planet below."

The Steward was cowed by the harsh words but not into silence. "I would like to point out that we are very much alive! She is, after all, a fine, sturdy ship."

"That's what they said about the original _Titanic,_" Rose muttered.

"Doctor," Astrid called, kneeling beside Mr. Copper who seemed to have sustained an injury. They hurried over and the Doctor crouched down next to the man to have a look. It wasn't too bad. Rose had certainly seen worse. If she could still project the healing energy outwards like she'd been able to once upon a time, it was the kind of injury that would take seconds to sort out.

The Steward cleared his throat then began to retreat from the group, glancing over his shoulder as he did. "If you could all stay here while I ascertain the exact nature of the—the situation."

Rose saw him opening the hatch before the Doctor did and she cried a warning, "No!"

"Don't open it!" the Doctor screamed, springing towards him.

The Steward heeded the warning too late. The airtight seal ruptured and the door was ripped off its hinges, revealing empty space where a hallway used to be. The Chief Steward barely had time to scream before he was sucked out. Rose flung herself at the pipes behind her just as the horrible tug of the vacuum began. She glimpsed the Doctor grab onto something before she squeezed her eyes shut.

There was little she hated more than the feeling of a force exponentially stronger than she was trying to pull her to certain doom. It reminded her too much of the force of the Void. She'd already lived through that twice and prayed she'd never have to feel it again. The pull of the space vacuum was almost as bad.

She heard the others screaming over the sound of the air whooshing past. Then the Doctor yelled in pain and Rose opened her eyes to find him across the room from where he was only moments ago.

"What are you doing?!" she shouted. Idiot! Madman!

The Doctor pulled out the sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the panel Bannakaffalatte was clinging to for dear life.

"_Oxygen shield stabilized," _the computer droned overhead. The pull lessened quite abruptly before fading altogether. Her feet touched the ground and she reflexively squeezed the piping she was clinging to even tighter.

"Everyone alright?" The Doctor asked. "Rose?"

"'m Good," she answered. She turned around. Everyone was still standing, for the most part. Mr. Copper was back on the floor again and looking quite frazzled.

"Astrid?" the Doctor called.

"Yeah," the woman panted from nearby.

"Foon? Morvin? Mr. Copper? Bannakaffalatta?"

"Yes," the little red fella affirmed.

"You—what was your name?"

"Rickston Slade," the rude man replied.

"You all right?"

The man straightened his tie irritably. "No thanks to that idiot."

Astrid looked at him in horror and Rose wholeheartedly agreed with her. "The steward just died!"

"Then he's a dead idiot." Rickston sneered.

Astrid gasped and both she and Rose took a step forward at the same time. Rose was already lifting her hand to smack him right across the face when the Doctor intervened.

"Alright, calm down," the Doctor ordered. "Just stay still, all of you," he ordered. "Rose, with me."

He crossed the hall to the hole in the wall where the hatch had been. Rose followed. Through it, she could see Earth, debris from the ship, and…bodies. Bodies floating everywhere. She recognized several from the party.

"Oh, God," she breathed.

"Rose…" Astrid said quietly. Rose nearly jumped, not having noticed the woman's approach. "How bad is it?"

"Bad," Rose croaked.

"We're alive, just focus on that." The Doctor instructed.

"Why weren't the shields up?" Astrid asked. "Oxygen shields must always be up—it's the law."

"I don't think it was an accident." He turned away from the hatch but Rose continued to stare out at the wreckage. More bodies began to drift by. Some of these weren't even wearing party clothes. That one…was too small to be an adult. And that was—uh oh.

"If we can get to reception," he said quietly to Astrid, "We've got a spaceship tucked away. That's where Rose was trying to take you three before."

"Um…Doctor?" Rose cleared her throat. "That's not going to happen."

"Why?" He asked, looking her way. "Oh."

"What is it? What's wrong?" Astrid poked her head around the side of the ship. She stiffened when she saw the debris and bodies out there and let out a gasp of horror.

"That's our ship over there."

Astrid shook her head quickly. "W-where?"

"The blue box." Rose pointed to the TARDIS as it drifted through their line of sight.

"That's a spaceship?" She asked doubtfully.

"Oi, don't knock it." The Doctor protested. "Best ship in the universe."

"A bit small."

"A bit distant," he muttered. "Trouble is, once it's set adrift, it's programmed to lock onto the nearest center of gravity and that would be…the Earth. Specifically the Powel Estate, in this case."

"There it goes," Rose sighed as she TARDIS began its spinning in-flight motion and spiraled down to Earth. As it went, she felt their bond begin to stretch. Not much, not by any means—they were still in the same time and the distance wasn't even that great relatively speaking—but enough for her to feel it.

"Rose, do you think you could call it back?" he asked. That was one of her more theoretical abilities. She claimed she could do it, knew in her gut she could, trouble was…she didn't know how. Only in the direst of circumstances had the knowledge come to her and it always left just as quickly.

"Even if I suddenly could, she's probably too far."

"Eh, good point."

"Excuse me!" Rickston shouted, startling them. "If you're all done being secretive! What exactly are we supposed to do now?"

"Well, for starters, you're going to shut up." The Doctor ordered, striding up the hall. Rose started to follow but then glanced back at Astrid who was staring out the hole. "Mr. Copper, how's that head of yours?"

Rose gently touched Astrid's shoulder. Astrid looked at her in despair.

"Oh, um, fine, I think." The man replied. "The bleeding has stopped."

"Astrid!" The Doctor called. Astrid shook her head quickly and they both hurried up the corridor. The Doctor handed Astrid a small first-aid kit and she headed over to Copper. "Better put a plaster on it just to be safe. Anyone else hurt?"

"I think we're good," Morvin said.

"Bannakaffalatta fine," Bannakaffalatta confirmed then sat down by the wall without another word.

"Good. I'm gonna try to get ahold of the bridge. Astrid, which one of these is a comm?" He looked around the room.

She looked up from the first aid kit and pointed. "That one there."

"Thank you. Need to reach the bridge. Rose—" he reached into his pocket and pulled out her mobile (a newer model she'd picked up in 2018) and tossed it to her "—I want you to phone UNIT. Tell them Security Code eight-delta-six."

Rose nodded and unlocked her phone. She had UNIT's number saved under her contacts. Being a (mostly former) Torchwood agent, she wasn't exactly friends with UNIT, but Martha worked with them now and the Doctor had a history with them so she played nice. They were definitely useful in a pinch. But then her finger froze over the screen as something occurred to her.

"I don't think I should."

The Doctor was fiddling with the comm panel. "Why?"

She glanced at the others. They were talking amongst themselves and didn't seem to be listening but she didn't want to risk sending them into a panic. So she asked telepathically, _What if they try to blast the ship out of the sky?_

He froze.

_Doctor, you and I both know what'll happen if something this size hits the planet. UNIT will, too. What do you think they'll do?_

_Security Code Eight-Delta-Six warns of an imminent impact threat, _he answered. _If this ship starts to fall, I want them prepared._

_What if they don't wait? What if they just blast us now—stop the danger before it becomes a threat? There's still people alive on this ship, we can't let them all be slaughtered._

He sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. _What do you suggest, then?_

"Martha."

The Doctor straightened. "Martha Jones?"

"Do we know any other Martha's? She knows how to operate the TARDIS."

"She knows how to take off and land. Basic functions. She won't be able to fly it back here."

"No, but, what if she had…say…a control disc? A control disc with coordinates to land at a safe place on this ship. A control disc we will go back and place on her kitchen counter when we're safe and free." A grin spread across her face at her own cleverness then she bit the inside of her lip as she waited for the verdict.

"A casualty loop?" The Doctor shook his head, a proud smile on his face. "Brilliant! Now but what…oh…" He frowned. "Yes…no… OH!" He shouted, flinging his hand up. "That's it! We can use the TARDIS to keep the ship in orbit! Rose Tyler you are brilliant!" He crossed the distance between them, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed the top of her head. Then he released her and bounded back to the comms.

Rose grinned proudly. "I know."

"Care to share with the class?" Rickston demanded.

"Not just yet." She said. "Got to make sure of something first."

Rose scrolled through her contacts until she found Martha's number and pressed it. She put the phone to her ear and listened to it ring. By the fourth ring, she was getting antsy. _Come on, Martha, pick up…_

"_Hello?"_ answered the voice of Tom Milligan, Martha's beau that she met at the end of the terrible paradox year then sought out in the proper timeline. He sounded like he'd just been laughing.

"Tom, it's Rose. Put Martha on."

"_She…um, she's busy. Her family's here."_

Tom still didn't know the Secret. As far as he knew, Rose and the Doctor were old travelling buddies. "I don't have time for this, Tom. I need her help."

"_Are you alright?"_

"No. Get Martha."

"_Give us a sec_," he said. She heard rustling on the other end of the line and voices growing louder. He said something she couldn't quite make out then the phone was handed off.

"_Rose?!"_ Martha asked fearfully.

"Oh thank God," she exhaled. "Listen to me," she said quietly. "We're in big trouble. Right now, there's an alien cruise ship floating over Earth called the _Titanic_. We're on it."

"…_Seriously? The _Titanic_? You-know-what's called a ship the _Titanic_…and you're on it?!" _Disbelief colored her tone and Rose knew why. If there was one thing Rose had refused to do upon becoming a time traveler, one place she would never set foot as long as she lived, it was the _Titanic_. She and Martha had always been agreement on that front.

"Yeah, long story. I'll tell you later. But the shields were down for some reason and meteorites crashed into it. It's not looking good. We've got dozens dead and I don't know how much longer this ship is going to stay up. If it falls…"

"_God,_" she whispered. _ "What do you need me to do?"_

"The TARDIS fell out of the ship and automatically piloted itself to Earth. The Doctor says she would've landed at the Powell Estates. We need to get her back up here. Where are you?"

"_Mum's."_

"Alright. Go into the kitchen and look on the counter…by the sink."

"_Oh…kay."_ A few seconds passed. Rose glanced at the Doctor who was trying to force the battered comm panel to work properly. _ "What did you do?" _Martha asked. "_…What is this?"_

"It's an control disc for the TARDIS. It's been pre-programmed with coordinates to get the TARDIS back onto the _Titanic_."

"_Hold on, are we in a casualty loop?"_

"'Fraid so."

"_Wonderful."_

"When you're inside the ship—remember the CD slot in the console that wasn't a CD player at all? You'll stick the disc in there and the ship will come to us."

"_What about me?"_

Rose paused as the Doctor suddenly crowed, "Oh, hello, sailor!" He'd gotten through to the bridge, then.

She cleared her throat. "Well, the disc could be programmed so you're left behind as the ship takes off but, uh…we could probably use you. We've got a group of survivors here and at least one of them is hurt. We could have more by the time we get to the ship."

"_Alright. I'll be there as fast as I can. See you in a bit and…be careful, alright? Both of you."_

"You too."

Martha rang off and Rose lowered her phone from her ear and pressed the button on the top to lock it. Her sister was coming. She felt better already.

The Doctor, meanwhile, was leaning against the panel. He didn't look too happy. "Oh yes. If we hit the planet, the nuclear storm explodes and wipes out all life on Earth."

Rose inhaled sharply through her nose. The others got really quiet all of a sudden. Whatever they'd been doing before, they'd all heard that. She tucked her phone inside her bra then walked over to him.

The Doctor glanced at her. "Midshipman," he ordered, "I need you to fire up the engines containment field and feed it back into the core."

"_This is never going to work_," a young man replied fretfully.

"Trust me, it'll keep the engines going long enough to—"

"We're gonna die." Foon said and it was her realization that broke the silence. They all started to speak, their voices overlapping.

"Are you saying someone's done this on purpose?" Mr. Copper demanded.

The Doctor raised his hands to quiet them. "Okay, okay—"

Astrid shook her head and cried, "We're just a cruise ship!"

"Tch, tch! First things first!" He held up one finger on each hand. "One: We're going to climb through this ship. B…no…"

"Two," Rose corrected.

"Yes, that: we're going to find another way to reach reception. My ship will be waiting for us when we get there. Three—or C: we're going to save the _Titanic._" He lowered is hands. "And coming in at a very low Four or D or that little 'IV' in brackets they use in footnotes—"

"Doctor—"

"We're going to find out why we have to. Right then, everyone, follow me."

With that, he turned and started up the hallway. He held out his hand and Rose was about to take it before Rickston burst out loudly. "Hang on a minute!" The Doctor stopped and turned around, annoyed. "Who put you in charge? And who the hell are you people, anyway?"

The Doctor stiffened and then stalked back up to them. "I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. This is my wife, Rose Tyler, the Bad Wolf. We live and walk through time and routinely save planets and civilizations from utter destruction. We're the people who are going to save your lives and all six billion of the people on the planet below."

He said it with such utter certainty that Rose felt her own spirits rise. The Stoans stared at him with awe, surprise, and in Rickston's case, grudging respect.

"You got a problem with that?"

"No," said Rickston quickly, not quite meeting his eyes.

"In that case, allons-y!"

The Doctor turned again, grabbing Rose's hand, and the two of them lead the survivors down the corridor.


	4. Bit of a Surprise

**Sorry for the wait. Semester started and I've been playing Final Fantasy XIV in my free time. (And the FFX remaster. I'm currently stuck on Blitzball. Again. F*ck Blitzball.)**

* * *

The Doctor carefully eased open the metal door in front of them. So far all other doors they'd come across led to areas that had been ripped wide open and they were starting to get desperate, though both Rose and the Doctor were calm and collected. The Stoans were looking to them for guidance and if they lost their heads then things could quickly deteriorate.

Rose heard a clang from the other side of the door and the Doctor didn't immediately pull it shut. That was a good sign. "Careful," he cautioned.

He stepped through and Rose slipped in after him. He pulled the door open wider so the Van Hoffs would be able to get through. "Follow me," he said. The Stoans, lead by Astrid, warily exited the maintenance tunnels.

Rose surveyed the newest part of their escape route. It was a tiny service stairwell, littered with debris. Sparking cables dangled overhead and a vent kept blasting steam every few seconds. She started up the stairs carefully. They didn't creak or shift under her weight.

"Rather ironic," Mr. Copper said, "but this is very much in the spirit of Christmas."

Rose rolled her eyes and began shifting fallen pipes out of the way. The Doctor reached around her body to assist and together they lifted the u-shaped blockage out of the way and dropped it over the side.

"It's a festival of violence!" the quack went on. "They say human beings only survive depending on whether they've been good or bad. It's barbaric."

"Oh for the love of…" Rose muttered.

"Actually, that's not true," the Doctor said. "Christmas is a time of—of peace and Thanksgiving and…"

"Presents, family, food," Rose added. "Speeches by the queen, Christmas crackers, trees, and pretty lights. There's no killing or—or eating Turkish people, for that matter."

"But that man down below, he said the last two Christmases have been nasty," Astrid pointed out.

"Black spots on the good Christmas name." Rose sniffed, pushing a dangling piece of metal out of her way. "Exceptions to the rule."

The piece of metal in front of her was too heavy so she and the Doctor switched places. While he worked on moving the obstruction, Mr. Copper studied Rose curiously. "Young lady, how exactly do you know so much about Earth?"

"We got a Host!" the Doctor crowed. "Strength of ten." He sniffed and Rose could see the gears in his brain turning. "If we can mend it, we can use it to fix the rubble."

"We can do robotics," Morvin piped up from the rear. "Both of us."

"We work on the milk market back on Sto," Foon explained. "It's all robot staff."

The Doctor inclined his head at the fallen angel bot. "See if you can't get it working." To Rose, "Let's have a look."

The rest of them continued up the stairs while the Van Hoffs stayed behind to deal with the Host. The way was entirely clear for the next flight of stairs but when they came to the landing, they found their path completely blocked by fallen debris.

"It's blocked," Astrid said.

"So what do we do?" he asked like a teacher wanting the student to work out the problem herself.

"We shift it."

He grinned at her. "That's the attitude." He turned to the men. "Rickston, Mr. Copper, and you, Bannakaffalatta…" he sighed. "Look can I just call you Banna? It's gonna save a lot of time."

"No!" the red man said firmly. "Bannakaffalatta."

He sighed again. "Alright then, Bannakaffalatta, there's a gap in the middle. See if you can get through."

Everyone scooted out of the way for him to get through. He surveyed the gap for a moment. "Easy! Good." Bannakaffalatta declared then proceeded to slip right on through.

The ship rocked violently again without warning and Rose gripped the railing with one hand and the Doctor's arm with the other. More debris and dust fell. One of the men screamed and Astrid made a weird little yelping noise. Thankfully, the shaking quickly ceased.

"This whole thing could come crashing down any minute!" Rickston shouted.

"Oh, Rickston, I forgot. Did you get that message?" the Doctor asked.

Rickston was confused. "No. What message?"

"Shut up!"

There was a loud clang from up above and then Bannakaffalatta announced he'd made it. Astrid wriggled around Rose and the Doctor, dropping onto her hands and knees. "I'm small enough, I can get through."

"Careful," the Doctor cautioned.

"I'm fine," she replied, grunting as she squeezed through.

"Thing is, how are Mr. and Mrs. Fatso gonna get through that gap?" Rickston wondered uncouthly behind her.

"We make the gap bigger." The Doctor said with a look of disgust in the man's direction. The expression faded to concern as he glanced at Rose and reached for her hand, giving it a tug. "You, too. Go." _Keep them safe._

"Okay." She nodded and eased herself down onto the floor. She examined the gap then crawled through. It was a tight squeeze but between Bannakaffalatta and Astrid, most of the obstructions had been pushed aside. Crawling wasn't easy in this dress but she somehow managed without ripping the fabric. Rose poked her head out the other side and looked around. Astrid was getting to her feet and Bannakaffalatta was standing a few feet from the exit, gazing down the hall with a tired expression on his face.

"You alright?" Rose checked.

"Yes," he answered.

"I'm fine," Astrid panted. She reached out a hand to help Rose to her feet. Rose brushed the dust off her dress and sighed. "Now what?"

"What do you think?" Rose asked.

Astrid licked her lips and looked over Rose's shoulder. Rose saw the gears working behind here eyes as she surveyed the obstruction. "We help from this side."

Rose nodded and turned around. She examined the debris as a whole then tried to discern which pieces would be the best to remove first. She started with a large u-shaped pipe. "Help me with this," she ordered as she hefted one side. Astrid grabbed the other and together they moved it out of the way. It clanged as it hit the ground.

"What was that?" the Doctor shouted.

"We're clearing from this side." Astrid called back. "Just tell me if it starts moving."

Rose reached for a metal panel the size of her torso and began to drag it away from the heap, wincing at the harsh grating noise it made as it slid across the floor.

"Bannakaffalatta, what's wrong?" Astrid asked suddenly.

"Shh," was the response.

"What is it?"

Rose set the panel down carefully and then turned. Bannakaffalatta lay propped against a dull box near the wall.

"Can't say," Bannakaffalatta said.

Astrid clamored over the debris towards him and crouched by his side. "Are you hurt?"

He shook his head. "Ashamed."

"Why?" Rose asked. "You're tired—nothing wrong with that."

The red man fixed her with a sad look. "Poor Bannakaffalatta." Then he lifted his fancy white shirt to reveal a metallic torso with various buttons and tubing.

"Oh," she breathed.

"You're a cyborg," Astrid realized.

Bannakaffalatta nodded and lowered his shirt. "Had accident long ago. Secret."

"No, but everything's changed now. Cyborgs are getting equal rights. They passed a law back on Sto," she explained. "You can even get married."

A grin tugged at his lips and he looked her up and down. "Marry you?"

She giggled breathlessly. "Well, you can buy me a drink first." Astrid said and he nodded once. "Come on. Let's recharge you." She rolled up his shirt and pressed a button on his chest then smoothed his shirt back out. Quick and efficient, like she'd had experience with this before.

Rose cocked her head to the side and studied the woman again. She'd certainly been deserving of a round trip ride on the TARDIS but now Rose was starting to wonder if she wasn't worthy of more. Like a full time pass. She was kind and considerate, quick thinking, and open to new things; she was definitely afraid but she was keeping a level head despite the fact, and she clearly did not share her society's prejudice against cyborgs.

"Just…stay there for a bit." Astrid stood and worked her way back over to the obstruction.

"Tell no one," Bannakaffalatta requested.

"I promise."

He glanced at Rose and she nodded. "Not a word."

"What's going on up there?" The Doctor's called from the other side of the obstruction.

Astrid leaned through the rubble and evidently spotted the Doctor somewhere down below. "I think Bannakafalatta and I jut got engaged." She grinned back at the red cyborg and he chuckled.

She and Rose got back to work moving the rubble away. Together they were able to clear most of the little things. A few minutes later, Bannakaffalatta was on his feet and helping them. "Allow me," he said as they struggled with a particularly heavy pipe. "Bannakaffalatta strong!" He grabbed onto the pipe and lifted and Rose felt her load decrease marginally.

The set it down a few feet away from the opening, which was now much larger than it had been before. The only thing they couldn't move was a white beam laying across the railing and the debris it was pinning down.

"What do you think?" Rose asked as they surveyed their handiwork. "Reckon everyone can get through that?"

"I think so…" Astrid replied. "Though it'll probably be a bit of a squeeze for Morvin and Foon."

"They will make through," Bannakaffalatta said confidently. "Host stronger than Bannakaffalatta. Host can move that."

"I'm going to check on how they're doing downstairs." Rose told them, holding up her finger. She closed her eyes and searched for the Doctor's presence in the corner of her mind then thought his way. _We've done all we can. How's it coming on your end?_

_Good_, he answered a moment later._ We can get through now, I think. Shouldn't be a problem once we get the Host up and running. Not much longer, I think the Van Hoffs are almost finished. Are you okay?_

_I'm fine. …We need to talk about Astrid later on._

_Think it's time we took on a third?_

_That's exactly what I'm thinking._

"Are you telepathic?" Astrid asked softly. Rose nodded.

_She'd be great with us_.

_Hmmm._ He drawled. A moment later, _Are you certain? _

"What was that earlier?"

Rose blinked her eyes open. "What do you mean?"

"Your eyes," Astrid said. "They were…all funny…sort of glowing?"

"It's sort of…a warning, I guess. It happens when I'm scared or angry or threatened."

"What about your leg?" Astrid asked. Rose hesitated. "I saw you," she insisted. "That thing was half a foot long at least and about four inches of it was in your leg. That's not something you just walk away from."

Rose pulled her skirt enough to show the place where the wound had been so Astrid could see the smooth, unblemished skin. "I can."

"You're not Stoan."

"I never said I was." Rose replied blithely, releasing her skirt.

"So…you're both aliens. Okay." She nodded to herself then smiled almost bashfully. "What species—"

"IT'S WORKING!" Morvin shouted below them, cutting off the rest of Astrid's question. Rose was glad.

Then the masculine, cybernetic voice of a Host echoed through the stairway. "Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill." Over and over. The women looked at each other fearfully.

"TURN IT OFF!" the Doctor bellowed.

The next few moments were full of screaming (mosltly Foon's) and from the sound of it, something was happening to Morvin. Rose raced to the stairs but couldn't really see what was going on down below though she caught a glimpse of the Doctor backing away from the Host. All the while the homicidal robot repeated its cheerful mantra.

_Doctor?!_ She thought in a panic when she lost sight of him. He didn't respond. She tried again, scrambling to force the message through their bond. _Doctor!_

"What's happening?!" Astrid cried.

"The Host's gone mad!" Rose craned her neck to see around the debris blocking her line of sight. She caught sight of a suit and brown hair.

"Rickston! Get them through!" the Doctor screamed.

"No chance!" The bastard replied then slipped through the narrow opening. Rose resisted the urge to deck him. Pathetic, cowardly, selfish, asshole.

"Rickston!" Mr. Copper protested.

"I'll never get through there!" Foon protested.

"Yes, you can. Let me go first." The old man scrambled through then turned around. "Now you. Come on. Give me your hand."

Astrid scrambled over to help haul the heavy woman through. Rose, meanwhile, searched frantically for the Doctor. She spotted him near a screen with Max Capricorn's face on it and heard him yell something into the comm system on top of it. Something about the Host going berserk.

"Kill. Kill. Kill."

"No!" Foon wailed. "I'm stuck."

"Come on, you can do it!" Astrid gave a mighty heave and Foon was pulled through slightly further. Then the metal beam above her creaked and slipped, nearly trapping Foon. Thinking quickly, Mr. Copper reached for a nearby metal pole protruding from the remaining mess and pushed down. The beam lifted.

"Kill. Kill. Kill."

"It's going to collapse!" Mr. Copper warned.

Astrid pulled again. It was enough. Foon slipped free and clambered to her feet and out of the way for her husband.

"Rickston," Mr. Copper panted, "Vot damn it, help me!"

Rickston looked him dead in the eye. "No. Way."

Morvin dove for the opening and banged his head on the top. He began squeezing through but it became immediately clear that he was going to have a harder time than his wife who'd been smaller in size and stature than he. Even with Astrid's help, he wasn't making much progress. Rose spotted the Doctor scrambling up the stairs behind him with the Host not far behind.

"Morvin, get through!" he shouted.

"Doctor, he's stuck!" Astrid panted. Rose abandoned her post and raced around Astrid to grab Morvin's other arm. She pulled and _blimey_ he was heavy.

"Mr. Van Hoff, I know we've only just met but you'll have to excuse me!" The Doctor roared. A few seconds later and Morvin burst through the opening like a cork freed from its bottle and Astrid helped him to his feet with reassuring encouragements.

Rose crouched down in front of the opening. It was just her husband now trapped over there with the fast-approaching Host. "Come on, Doctor!" Rose cried. "Hurry!" He wasn't going to make it through before the Host grabbed him and he seemed to realize this because he whirled around suddenly, throwing his hand out.

"Information override! You will tell me the point of origin of your command structure!"

Mr. Copper grunted above them, straining from the effort of keeping the gap open. "I can't hold it…!"

"Information: Deck 31," the Host answered promptly.

"Thank you!" The Doctor said quickly then pulled himself up on the railing and skittered through the opening. Rose hadn't thought it through when she chose her location because the Doctor had nowhere to go but through her. He wrapped his arms around her and used his force to knock them both away from the hole. Rose landed on her back, his hand protecting her head from the hard floor. "Let go!" he yelled.

Mr. Copper yelled wordlessly then released the pole, throwing himself away from the stairs. The Host began to crawl though. The beam groaned and then fell to the ground, crushing the head of the Host beneath its weight.

"Oh, thank Vot!" Astrid cried in relief.

Rose let out a breathless laugh of relief then seized the Doctor by his lapels and planted a kiss firmly on his mouth. _I thought it had you there for a sec._

_Me too,_ he replied when she pulled away. "I'm okay."

He helped her to her feet, keeping an arm around her protectively as he surveyed their group. Everyone was a little worse for the wear but alive. "Everyone okay?" he asked.

Rose shot Rickston a dirty look. "No thanks to that one."

The Doctor was unsurprised and looked like he'd very much like to introduce the man's face to a cricket bat. If it wouldn't be condemning him to death, Rose had half a mind to tie him up and leave him behind. Though a dark part of her muttered that he deserved it anyway.

"Everyone made it," Rickston snapped. "Now can we _go_ before another one shows up?"

Astrid took point. This section was mostly used for storage of kitchen and dining supplies. She suggested they make their way to Kitchen 5 since it was on the way to the bridge, there was a reliable comm system, and they could get some water. Should the Host pursue them, the doors and walls were strong enough to keep them out long enough to escape out another door.

Rickston, for once, had good question. Did the rest of the Host know about them? The Doctor had no clue, he'd only been to Sto once before and he hadn't exactly been dissecting their robots when he was there. Neither Astrid nor Copper knew much about how the Host worked and the Van Hoff's hadn't been paying attention to that sort of thing while repairing that Host so they had no way of knowing if it could've remotely alerted its counterparts to their existence. If it had, then it also would've failed to register their deaths and, therefore the Host logically should infer that meant they'd escaped.

Rose heard Foon fretting quietly over her husband at one point. Morvin had hit his head pretty hard though he hadn't lost consciousness and seemed to be walking fine so he probably didn't have a concussion. That didn't mean it didn't hurt. Even if she could still heal other people there wasn't much she could do for a headache. She still got headaches herself for various reasons and no amount of willing the soothing warmth of healing towards the spot could relieve them.

Her phone buzzed against her chest and Rose pulled it out, unlocking it. There was a text from Martha that read: _Nearly to Estate. You ok? _

Rose clamped her tongue between her teeth as she typed out her reply. _8 in our group, some hurt, all alive._ After hitting 'send', something else occurred to her and she frantically added: _Mauve alert. DO NOT LEAVE TARDIS. Angels are BAD!_

_Noted._ Martha replied a moment later.

"What'd she say?" the Doctor asked.

"She's nearly to the Estate. I warned her to not come out once she got here. Don't want the Host getting her."

"Good idea."

"Your vone still works?" Rickston asked in surprise. "Mine's lost service."

"Mine never loses service," Rose said simply.

"W-well then you can call for help!" Mr. Copper sputtered. "The police! Rescue!"

"I already did. The Calvary's on the way, she just needs time."

"She?" Astrid queried softly, glancing over her shoulder at them.

"An old friend of ours."

"You've only called one person?" Rickston scoffed. "How is a single woman supposed to save us?"

"Martha once saved Earth by herself. I think she can handle a bit of a rescue mission in her own backyard."

"You've called in a human?" Mr. Copper was suddenly very intrigued. "A-are you sure that's safe? It's almost boxing time…"

"D'you even know what that means?" She demanded.

"Er, well…"

"Boxing Day is a bank holiday that comes right after Christmas. There's no actual boxing involved. …Well, some people might get in a spat over an item during a sale, but that's different."

"Are you sure? Because from what I read—"

Rose sighed and spun around, hands on her hips. Their procession halted. "Mr. Copper, I don't know where you're getting all this from, but it's a load of rubbish."

He sputtered, looking around at all the faces now looking at him expectantly. "Well, I…how would you know?"

"Uh, maybe because she's _friends_ with a human?" Rickston suggested with a roll of his eyes. "Honestly."

And it was that one sentence, the way in which it was said, and who it was said by that finally made Rose cross that line she'd set for herself the moment Copper had begun filling their heads with nonsense. "No, because _I'm _human."

Astrid gasped. Morvin's eyes grew very wide and Foon's jaw dropped. Bannakaffalatta's eyebrows shot upwards. Even Rickston seemed taken aback by this sudden revelation. Mr. Copper quite looked like a deer in headlights then quite abruptly held up two fingers in a peace sign and who knew what he was trying to say with that? She gave him another look of exasperation then turned back around. She caught a glimpse of the Doctor's face and saw that he was very amused by the situation. Then she noticed Astrid's ashen face. Oh, right. Their species viewed humans as primitive Mr. Copper the Quack had them all believing humans were barbarians.

"And for the record, we do not worship Santa and we _do not eat_ Turkish people. That's cannibalism and it's against…everything, and creepy, and wrong, and Astrid, how much farther to the kitchens? I need a drink."

"Uh…um…n-not much farther now." Astrid stammered, turning away. She scurried off and Rose marched after her. The precession resumed walking behind them.

"How in Vot's name did a _human_ get on board?" Rickston said the word 'human' like it was some sort of filthy rodent. Rose gritted her teeth but kept her face neutral. It wasn't the first time she'd been referred to as lesser simply because of her race—and not in the teasing way the Doctor did by stating Time Lords were superior, but in a very real, cruel manner by other species who considered humans the equivalent of dogs or rats. She knew there was little she could do to change the opinion of someone like Rickston but even if the others had the same base perceptions of humans, she thought there could at least be hope for them. Something like smacking the rude blue-blooded bastard would hardly help her case.

"We stepped off our ship and onto yours and you should be grateful," the Doctor growled. "You'd be dead if we hadn't shown up."

"How do you even understand us?" Foon asked with nothing but honest curiosity in her voice. "They told us humans couldn't speak our language."

"They can't. She has a telepathic translator inside her mind," the Doctor explained. "She hears your speech in her native language and you, in turn, hear your own."

"We're here." Astrid announced, effectively ending the conversation.


	5. Bit of a Disaster

Rose was seated by herself some distance from the others while they gathered around serving cart the Van Hoff's had spotted. The idea of food had been a relief to them and Rose wasn't hungry, just thirsty. She poured herself a cup of water from the pitcher on the cart then retreated from the group. They hadn't told her to sit separate but none of them were exactly asking her to come back over. Being the only human in a group, while hardly a new occurrence, was lonely.

The Doctor stood just a few feet away, talking on the comms with the young Midshipman and trying to discern what could possibly be on Deck 31.

Rickston made a snide remark to Mr. Copper and Rose glanced his way in irritation…then paused as something occurred to her. He'd said something earlier to Astrid that hadn't really registered as important, but now she was wondering. He'd said that Max Capricorn Cruiseliners was "going down the drain." What if someone wanted to ensure it not only went down the drain but the hole was plugged behind it? A major loss of life on one of their ships due to severe system failures would definitely be enough to send an already struggling company to its grave on Earth. Sto probably wasn't very different.

_Doctor,_ she sent. _I've just had a thought._

"Hold on a minute," the Doctor said into the comm then looked down at her.

"It wasn't an accident. We both know that. It was sabotage."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Midshipman Frame said the Captain himself took down the shields."

"But why?"

The Doctor cocked his head to one side. "Frame, did the Captain happen to mention why?"

There was silence on the other end for a moment and then the young man replied. _ "Y-yes, he did. He was dying and…they offered him a lot of money to do it. Money for his family, I think." _

"They?" the Doctor repeated. He glanced at Rose.

_Rickston said Max Capricorn Cruiseliners is failing. What better way to ensure it fails than…this? _ Rose gestured with her hand to the mangled kitchen.

The Doctor's eyes widened and he turned back to the panel. "I think I've got a very good idea what's down on Deck 31. Whatever you do, keep those engines going!"

So focused on communicating with the Doctor, Rose hadn't noticed Astrid's approach until the other woman was bending over with a plate in her outstretched hands. "You need to eat," she said.

Not wanting to be rude, Rose accepted the plate of food that she suspected also doubled as a peace offering. The Doctor settled down next to her on the long piece of metal that had fallen to the floor and reached for a bit of food on her plate without ceremony. Astrid adjusted her skirt then sat down on the Doctor's other side.

"You look like Stoans," she told them. "I never would've known you weren't if you hadn't said anything."

"Mmm," the Doctor hummed, his mouth full of food. "You look Time Lord, actually." He swallowed then he reached for another piece of food.

Astrid didn't seem to know what to do with that one. Rose shook her head gently. "He means that his people were around before either of ours were."

"Er…Doctor? Rose?" Mr. Copper asked hesitantly and the three of them looked up to see the man standing just a few feet away. "It must be well past midnight, Earth time. Christmas Day."

"So it is," the Doctor agreed. "Merry Christmas."

Rose didn't bother telling him that there was no such thing as "Earth time" and that for some, Christmas Day was already underway and for others, it still early evening the day before. "Merry Christmas," Rose echoed.

"This Christmas thing, what's it all about?" Astrid asked. "I mean…what's it _really _about?"

Rose shrugged. "Depends on who you ask. People celebrate it differently…some don't celebrate it at all."

"Do you?"

Rose nodded. "For us it was always…Christmas trees and stockings and decorations and dinners with friends and family. Presents under the tree." She smiled at the Doctor. "New beginnings. But for some people, it's the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ—that's why it's called Christmas."

"I was there for that," the Doctor commented off-handedly. "I got the last room."

Rose swatted his arm. "Shut up, no you didn't!"

He simply arched one eyebrow.

"But what about the sacrifices?" Mr. Copper asked. Rose's eyebrows shot towards her eyebrows. "You leave sacrifices to Santa and, in return, he gives you blessings?"

"S-some people leave him milk and cookies, but—"

"Mr. Copper, this degree in Earthonomics…where's it from?" the Doctor inquired.

Mr. Copper's face fell and he looked away for a moment. "Honestly?"

"Just between us," the Doctor gestured to the four of them.

"Mrs. Golightly's Happy Travelling University and Dry Cleaners." He pressed a red handkerchief to his forehead and lowered himself onto an overturned bucket in front of them.

"You—you lied to the company…?" Astrid realized.

"I knew it," Rose muttered triumphantly.

"I—I wasted my life on Sto," he explained. "I was a travelling salesman, always on the road, and I reached retirement with nothing to show for it. Not even a home. And Earth sounded so exotic…"

"It can be," the Doctor agreed.

"But not in the way you were telling everybody," Rose added.

Mr. Copper sighed. "I'm so sorry for offending you."

"It—it's alright. You didn't mean any harm by it. Just, uh, no more, yeah?"

A loud THUMP on the door they'd come through startled them all and Rose's hands tightened instinctively around her plate.

"The Host!" The Doctor shouted, scrambling to his feet. "Move! Come on!"

The pounding continued. Astrid let out a wail of fright as she jumped up. They scrambled over the debris between them and the way out with the Doctor in the lead. He stopped to make sure everyone got through and Rose took point. They raced through the narrow service hallways without direction and if Astrid knew where to go from here she wasn't saying.

Somewhere behind them, they heard the resounding clatter of the kitchen door breaking down and the Host's cheerfully morbid chanting followed after them. "Kill. Kill. Kill."

The Doctor pushed through to the front of the group and took hold of Rose's hand. "There's a door!" he said. "Come on!"

They slowed in front of a thick metal door with the Max Capricorn logo on it and the Doctor whipped out the sonic screwdriver. He aimed it at the door, triggering the opening mechanism inside, and the door began to slide open. He stowed the sonic in is breast pocket and strode through the doorway, the others scrambling around him in their haste. But their charge was quickly felled when they realized they were on a very small landing with scarcely a railing to keep them on tis side of the edge.

Rose gawked at the sheer size of the room. She craned her neck upwards and saw a glowing blue ring around the circumference of the ceiling projecting a bluish transparent force field, through which the stars were distantly visible. They were in one of the smoke towers! The walls were made of pipes varying in size and thickness, some of which had split and were spewing flames. Smoke and steam wafted past them. She walked to the railing and peered over the edge. Beneath them was a burning mass of power that radiated heat so intense she could feel it from all the way up here.

On the other side of the space as a similar landing with a way out but the only way between the two were the sideways remains of what had once probably been a stable walkway.

"Is that the only way across?!" Rickston cried.

"On the other hand, it is a way across," the Doctor pointed out.

Astrid pointed to the burning mass beneath them. "The engines are open."

"Nuclear storm drive," the Doctor said. "Soon as it stops, the Titanic falls."

"B-but that thing, it'll never take our weight!" Morvin protested, gesturing at the 'bridge'. Rose grimaced, unable to disagree. Honestly, it looked like it'd barely support Bannakaffalatta.

"You're going last, mate," Rickston muttered.

"It's nitrofine metal. It' stronger than it looks," the Doctor reassured them.

Morvin shook his head, letting go of his wife, and walked towards the railed edge. "All the same, Rickston's right. Me and Foon should go la—" His words trailed into a scream of terror as the metal beneath his foot gave way. He grabbed onto the railing but it, too, gave way under his weight and his body pitched forward over the side before anyone could so much as start towards him.

Foon screamed her husband's name, racing over to the edge. Rose threw her arms out to catch the woman before she, too, went over. Foon fell to her knees and Rose went down with her, both of them staring at Morvin's body as he plummeted towards the burning engines. For just a moment, his terrified expression cleared into something like peace, as if he'd accepted his fate and was okay with it, then he disappeared.

The Doctor knelt on Foon's other side, his arms on her back reassuringly.

"I told you!" Rickston shouted. "I told you!"

"Just shut up!" Mr. Copper retorted. "Shut up!"

"Bring him back!" Foon wailed, distraught. "Can't you bring him back? Bring him back, Doctor!"

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I can't."

"You promised me!"

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Foon sobbed and dropped her head. Rose adjusted her arms so she was hugging the woman instead of just holding onto her.

"Uh, Doctor?" Mr. Copper spoke up suddenly. "I rather think those things have got our scent."

"I'm not waiting!" Rickston declared, panic leaking into his voice for the first time. With that, he stepped out onto the bridge.

"Careful!" The Doctor sprang to his feet and raced around the others. "Take it slowly!"

As if fed up with the man itself, the ship chose that moment to rumble with the force of another explosion somewhere. Flames briefly burst from one of the openings near the bridge and Rickston was knocked flat on his stomach, rolling towards the side. He managed to cling to the metal and peered over the side at the burning doom below him. "Vot help me!" he wailed.

"You're okay," the Doctor encouraged, pulling off his tie. "One step at a time. Come on, you can do it."

Through the door, the Host's chanting had become audible once more. "They're getting nearer!" Copper fretted.

The Doctor pulled out the sonic screwdriver and darted over to the door. He buzzed it along the top of the door, triggering the closing mechanism, and the door slid shut. Knowing him, he'd sealed it too.

"Leaving us trapped, wouldn't you say?"

"Never say trapped," the Doctor told him, "just inconveniently circumstanced."

Rose snorted quietly despite the situation. Mr. Copper didn't seem too amused either.

The bridge lurched again but Rickston stayed on, pushing himself to his hands and knees. He shouted that he was okay but no one seemed to pay any mind.

"Maybe he's alright," Foon reasoned suddenly. "Maybe—maybe there's a gravity curve down there or something. I don't know, maybe he's unconscious."

Rose shook her head slowly. "Foon, I'm sorry. There's no way he could've—he's gone."

Tears welled anew in Foon's eyes and she sobbed heavily. Rose pulled her more firmly into a hug as the other woman wept, "What am I going to do without him?" She rocked her gently, soothingly, and in her peripheral vision, saw Astrid come around to Foon's other side, and put her arm around the woman's shoulders.

"Yes!" Rickston shouted suddenly. "Oh yes! Who's good?!" Must've made it across. Rose didn't turn to check.

"Bannakaffalatta, you go next," the Doctor said.

"Bannakaffalatta small!" the cyborg man replied.

"Slowly!"

The Host began to pound on the door and Rose jerked around, releasing Foon in the process. A dent was clearly visible in the door where a Host had pounded its fist.

"They found us!" Copper shouted to the women. Foon didn't seem willing to move. Rose caught Astrid's eye and the woman nodded and together they hefted the grieving widow to her feet.

"Rose, Astrid, get across right now," the Doctor ordered.

Astrid was reluctant to let go of Foon but after a moment, released her to head for the bridge. Rose didn't budge. "What about you?" Astrid asked.

"Just do it. Go on."

Rose twisted around. Foon stared over the edge at the engines where her husband had disappeared. "Foon. We have to get across right now."

"Rose! Come on!"

Foon shook her head. "What for?" she wailed. "What am I gonna do without him?"

"Doctor!" Rickston shouted. "The door's locked!"

"You're gonna live," Rose insisted. "You're gonna make it out of this!"

"Why should I? It's my fault we're here, my fault he's dead!" She sobbed loudly and leaned into Rose for support.

"Doctor, I can't open the door! We need the whirring key thing of yours!" Rickston insisted.

"Rose, come on," the Doctor curled his hand around her bicep and pulled. She shook him off.

"I'm not leaving without her," she insisted, glimmering eyes daring him to challenge her. Behind them, the Host continued to pound away at the door. They were running out of time.

The Doctor gripped her arm tightly. "And I'm not leaving without you."

Rose stopped short. Usually that was her line, always refusing to escape to safety without him. The urge to ensure his safety was strong, even if it meant leaving behind Foon, but the rest of her cried out in protest at the thought of abandoning her.

"We're going to be killed if we can't get out!" Rickston bellowed.

Rose turned back to Foon. "Please, Foon."

"G-go," the woman blubbered, stepping backwards. "Don't l-lose your husband because of me." Foon took another step away and out of Rose's grip. The Doctor seized his chance and pulled Rose towards the bridge.

Rose finally looked away from Foon and sized up the walkway before her. Bannakaffalatta, Astrid, and Mr. Copper were already on their way and making good progress. Bannakaffalatta had hold of Astrid's hand and was helping to keep her steady. Ever thankful she'd chosen to wear flats, Rose tentatively took a step out onto the bridge, then another. The added weight caused the bridge to rock slightly and fear spiked in her veins, bringing on a rush of adrenaline and warm energy.

The world sharped to crystal clarity. She could feel tremors of the ship around her, the fluctuating power of the engines below her struggling to keep moving. She could feel the shifting balance of the bridge beneath her feet and began to adjust her own balance accordingly. Timelines danced chaotically around her, so many of them severed abruptly from all the death in such a sort time, and those of the survivors around her spiraling wildly in this tumultuous moment of time when anything could happen. She could sense the echo of Morvin's timeline where it should've been bound to Foon's, their connection severed with his untimely death. She shook her head to dispel the time knowledge clouding it.

"Too many people!" Bannakaffalatta protested.

"Oi! Don't get all spiky with me!" the Doctor snapped. "Keep going!"

Rose shook her head again and this time the Doctor noticed something was bothering her. _What's wrong? _

There was no way she could focus enough to reply telepathically so she bit out, "Timelines…I see 'em everywhere."

The Doctor stepped out on the bridge and took her hand in his. She felt his mind billow around hers and a moment later the timelines faded. She could still sense them but they no longer crowded out her other senses. Unfortunately, he had no way to escape his own time senses but at least he could manage them on his own.

They made their way slowly across the bridge. On the other side, Bannkaffalatta flung himself to safety across a narrow part in the bridge. Rose squeezed the Doctor's hand tighter and took another step. All the while, the Host continued to pound on the door. The ship rocked again without warning and she pitched forward with a scream and would have gone over herself had the Doctor not steadied her. The bridge shuddered beneath them.

"It's gonna fall!" Astrid screamed.

"It's just settling!" The Doctor shouted. "Keep going!"

And then…there was silence. The Host had stopped banging on the door. Rose looked at the Doctor and saw her own wariness reflected there.

"They've stopped," Astrid said.

"Gone away?" Bannakaffalatta suggested.

"Why would they give up?" the Doctor asked shrewdly. They wouldn't. They weren't cyborgs who could think freely, they were robots with an objective and robots didn't give up their objectives until they were complete.

"Never mind that!" Rickston burst out. "Keep coming!"

"Where have they gone?" the Doctor murmured loud enough for them all to hear. "Where are the Host?"

With her senses abuzz, Rose could tell the moment they arrived and her eyes flicked upwards. "Oh, God," she whispered then shouted, "Look!"

Five Host descended from above, glowing with light like proper angels, their hands clasped serenely in front of them. The Doctor stood, pulling Rose with him.

"Information: Kill." One of the Host said then as one, they reached for their halos.

"Arm yourselves!" The Doctor shouted, releasing Rose's hand. "All of you."

He bent down to pick up a pipe and Rose grabbed a flat piece of metal hanging precariously from the edge. All it took was one good tug and it came free. The first Host tossed its halo at the Doctor and he batted it away. The next one came for Astrid, just as she pulled a stick of metal free, and she whacked it off course. Rose saw a flash of gold in the corner of her eye and whipped around, swinging the metal up in front of her face. The halo made contact and ricocheted away.

The Host did not falter, pulling more halos from their sleeves and tossing them into the fray even as the others spiraled away to their doom.

The Doctor suddenly let out a shout of pain and Rose spun around to see him holding onto his shoulder. She reached for it automatically, pushing his hand away to see the damage. His jacket was ripped but their was no blood, only slightly red flesh where the halo had made contact. Some form of electrocution, perhaps?

"Bannakaffalatta stop!" The red spiked man shouted suddenly. Rose spun around. "Bannakaffalatta proud! Bannakaffalatta…cyborg!" He lifted his shirt and a pulse of bluish white energy burst forth from his metallic torso. Rose felt the energy dance across her skin as it passed by without harming her. The same could not be said for the Host. They sparked and twitched, glows dying, and then plummeted towards the engines and took their halos with them. All except for one, which collapsed in a heap onto their bridge. They all stared at its still form.

"Electromagnetic pulse took out the robots!" The Doctor turned. "Oh, Bannakaffalatta, that was brilliant!"

With a swift series of bleeps, Bannakaffalatta's legs gave out and he collapsed against the scaffolding. Yes, it was a brilliant plan and they probably wouldn't have made it without his quick thinking, but their respite came with a cost. He must've known what would happen by expelling a large amount of power at once.

Astrid carefully jumped over to his side and kneeled by his head. "He's used all his power!"

"Did good?" he asked.

She looked down and smiled, patting his shoulder. "You saved our lives."

"Bannakaffalatta happy."

Mr. Copper crawled towards them and Rose followed carefully, eager to put as much space between herself and the Host as possible.

"We can recharge you," Astrid assured him, "get you to a power point, just plug you in!"

He shook his head slightly. "Too late."

"No, but…you gotta get me that drink, remember?"

He grinned at her. "Pretty girl." But then his face went slack and his eyes slipped shut.

Rose swallowed and ducked her head in respect. She heard Astrid gasp then say, "Rose!" She looked up. "You can heal…can't you help him!"

"It—it doesn't work like that." Rose shook her head. "I can't bring back the dead."

Astrid's lip quivered and she bowed her head. She reached to button his shirt but Mr. Copper held out his hand. "I'm sorry. Forgive me."

"Leave him alone!"

"It's the EMP transmitter," he explained, trying to placate her. He reached for the button Astrid had pressed earlier to recharge Bannakaffalatta and pulled out a cylindrical device about half a foot long. "He—he'd want us to have it. I used to sell these things. They'd always give me a bed for the night in the cyborg caravans. They're good people. But if we can recharge it, we can reuse it as a weapon against the rest of the Host." He held it up triumphantly. "Bannakaffalatta might have saved us all."

"Do you think?" Rickston interrupted, pointing at something. "Try telling him that!"

They all turned to see the Host was starting to move. Its hand curled around a halo then it began to push itself up. "Information: reboot."

"Use the EMP!"

"It's dead!" Mr. Copper replied.

"It's gotta have emergency stores!" Astrid replied, voice trembling with fear.

The Doctor, meanwhile turned to face the Host fully, shielding Rose's body with his own at the same time. "No, no, no! Hold on." The Host drew its arm back to swing the deadly halo at him. "Override loophole security protocol…10! 666! Uh, 21! 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Um, gah, I dunno—"

"One!" Rose shouted. The Host stopped mid-motion and shifted into a passive stance, halo clasped nonthreateningly in its hands.

"Information: state request."

"Good…" For a moment, he seemed surprised that had actually worked. Then his voice hardened. "Right. You've been ordered to kill the survivors: but why?"

Rose turned to the others and motioned for them to keep moving. Astrid nodded. With one last look at Bannakaffalatta she got to her feet.

"Information: no witnesses."

"But this ship's gonna fall on the Earth and kill everyone. The human race have nothing to do with the _Titanic_ so that contravenes your orders, yes?"

"Information: incorrect."

"But why do you want to destroy the Earth?"

"Information: it is the plan."

"What plan?"

"Information: protocol grants you only three questions. These three questions have been used."

"Well, you could have warned me!"

"Information: now you will die." The Host began to raise its weapon once again.

The Doctor took a step back and, thinking quickly, Rose leaned around him. "Security Protocol One! Hold it, you, I'm a new person, so you gotta answer my questions now."

The Host returned to its previous position. "Information: correct. State your three questions."

"Alright." She swallowed and stepped around the Doctor so she was standing in front of the Host. "Do you have a mode or protocol that overrides your current main orders for something of…higher priority?"

"Information: yes."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Well, what is it, then?"

"Information: only Max Capricorn staff are permitted to know."

"Well, Astrid back there is staff. Tell her."

"Information: I am not permitted to provide this information to anyone not Max Capricorn staff. You have one question remaining."

"Yeah, alright." Rose fisted her hands in her skirt and pulled it up as she walked closer to the Host, hoping it wouldn't find anything suspicious about the motion. The bridge felt relatively stable beneath her feet. She really wished she had something sturdier on her feet than these flats but it would have to do. Succeed or fail, at least she didn't have to worry about permanent injury. "Last question: will you take a step to the left?"

"Information: yes." The Host did as she asked and stood right on the edge of the bridge.

She smiled and slid into position. "Thanks."

Spinning on the ball of her left foot, she brought her right leg up in a roundhouse kick to the Host's face. Pain seared through her foot as it connected with unyielding metal but the force of it was enough to knock the Host off balance. It slipped over the edge without so much as a peep and behind her Rose heard the astonished gasps of the survivors. Before she fell, Rose saw Foon standing at the edge of the bridge with the rope from her dress in her hands, as if she'd been planning to take on the Host herself.

Rose's foot made contact with the ground and pain shot up her leg. She let out a choked cry and her legs gave way but the Doctor was there to catch her. "I'm alright!" she gasped.

"Oh, you stupid girl," the Doctor admonished. "Stupid, brilliant, clever girl."

"Pretty sure that's contradictory."

"But it's you."

Careful not to jostle her too much, the Doctor slid one arm beneath her legs and lifted her in his arms bridal style. She held tightly to his jacket as he carried her across the rest of the way before easing her onto the stable ground. He gave hand a squeeze then went back for Bannakaffalatta's body.

Mr. Copper and helped her sit up and Astrid knelt by Rose's foot. She gently slid the shoe off and Rose hissed through her clenched teeth at the pain. Her foot was already starting to swell terribly but she could feel the healing energy gathering in her foot and with it came the injury perception she possessed. She'd cracked several of the long bones in the middle of her foot (she'd have to ask Martha what those were called later) and shattered one. Unfortunately, breaks like these took a while to heal depending on the severity, and a shattering took the longest. She wouldn't be walking for at least a few hours. Maybe the rest of the day and tomorrow would be best spent off her feet entirely.

"I think it's broken but don't know anything about human anatomy," Astrid fretted. "Do you even have bones to break?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah, it's broken."

The Doctor set Bannakaffalatta's body safely away from the edge then started back across to collect Foon.

"But you're gonna be okay, right? I mean, after that thing in your earlier, this should be a cinch."

"I'll be okay—eventually. Bones are tricky, dunno why. I can fix tissue and nerves easy but bones are harder. Organs are the worst."

"Y-you've had to do this often, then?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah, there was this—well, used to be I had a lot more power and could heal other people but things were different then. And it was a bad time on Earth so I ended up healing a lot of people with some pretty terrible injuries. Gotta take it slow, though, or I'll pass out. I'll be okay in a few hours."

"Can all humans do this?" Mr. Copper inquired curiously.

Rose shook her head. "Just me. Long story."

"That was brave."

All three of them looked up in surprise. Surely they hadn't heard that right? But, yes, there was Rickston Slade standing just off to the side, eyeing Rose's wounded foot. He met her eyes briefly then looked away. "For a human."

The Doctor and Foon made it safely across the bridge. Foon was sniffling and tears continued to trickle from her eyes but she was relatively composed, all things considering. She caught Rose's eye and her lips twitched into something that might have been a smile if she wasn't so heartbroken. The Doctor walked over to Rose and crouched by her side.

"Is it broken?"

"Pretty badly," she confirmed with a grimace. "It'll be a few hours."

The Doctor nodded and began to unbutton his jacket. He shucked it and set it aside then removed his Oxford as well, leaving him in just his undershirt. He ripped the sleeves off the shirt and scooted down to her foot. Astrid moved aside and joined the others who were watching with morbid fascination. Mindful of her injury, he carefully wrapped the first sleeve around her foot, then used the second to continue wrapping up around her ankle. He ordered Astrid to hold the end in place while he rummaged through his pockets for some tape. He pulled out a roll of neon blue tape and used it to secure the binding in place. Lastly, he wrapped the remains of the shirt around her foot like a protective cushion in case of impact. It wasn't perfect but it'd do.

Finished, he put his jacket back on and fastened it up. As he was doing this, Rose's phone vibrated. She pulled it out. New text from Martha. It read: _I'm in. Be there in a tick!_

"Martha's on the TARDIS." Rose reported as she typed back her reply. Before she could hit 'send', another message appeared.

_How's things on your end?_

_Two dead. Remember STAY IN THE TARDIS. _

Rose turned the screen off then tucked her phone away again. She nodded to the Doctor and he slid his arms beneath her legs and around her shoulders and hefted her up with ease. "Everybody ready?" he asked.

They nodded.

"The door's still locked," Rickston reminded him moodily. Rose reached inside the Doctor's jacket and fished out the sonic screwdriver, which was still on the right setting. He carried her over to the door and she turned the sonic on and ran it along the top of the door. The door slid open and the six of them left the room that had taken two of their number and nearly the rest of them as well.

They entered another set of maintenance halls. The Doctor moved as quickly as he dared and Rose focused most of her efforts on keeping her leg as still as possible while the warmth did its work on her damaged bones.

Suddenly, in her mind Rose felt the link to the TARDIS return to normal as the ship arrived. She sighed in relief."TARDIS is back."

"Right!" he said. "Everyone listen up. Get to Reception One where we all met. You'll see a big blue box—get inside where it's safe. Mr. Copper, I need you to use your staff access to get into the computers and try to find a way to send an SOS." He turned around. "Astrid, you're in charge of the EMP. Once it's powered up, it'll take out Hosts within fifty yards but then it needs sixty seconds to recharge. Got it?"

She nodded seriously and clasped the EMP tightly in her hands.

"Rose is in charge. I'm giving her my sonic—er…whirring key thing. Rose, once you're inside, I want you to fly the TARDIS out into space, tether the _Titanic_, and tow it. You remember how to tow?"

She made a face. "I think so…"

"Good enough. Rickston, think you can worry about someone other than yourself for a minute?" The Doctor didn't wait for him to answer. "Excellent. You're going to be responsible for Rose. See to it that she makes it inside the ship and into the care of Dr. Jones. If she so much as gets another scratch the rest of the way I'm holding you personally responsible. Got it?"

For once, Rickston didn't argue, nodding once in affirmative. The Doctor stared him down for a long moment then lowered Rose to the ground. She shifted around into a more comfortable position and propped her foot up on a nearby pipe.

"Foon." He turned to the woman who had managed to dry her tears. "You alright?"

"How do you think I am?" she asked hollowly.

"I know." He put his hand on her shoulder. "Believe me…I know. But I need you _here_. Stay near Rose, she might need your help. Can you do that?"

Foon nodded, pressing her lips together.

"Good. Astrid!" He turned to the blonde. "Where's the power point?"

"Uh…under the comms." She pointed and the two of them hurried over, crouching down. Rose watched him show her how to charge the EMP.

Foon knelt down beside Rose and Rose wordlessly curled her hand around the woman's, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I don't know what I'm going to do," the woman murmured. "He was all I had. I don't even know how to support myself. I've got so much debt…"

"We can help with that," Rose offered. "The debt part, I mean."

"But then what?"

"You take it day by day. Trust me, I know what it's like. I lost him once, didn't know if I was ever going to see him again, and I didn't belong where I was. And I'd realized I'd forgotten how to…really live without him. I had to figure out who I was without him by my side and it made me stronger. I was lucky to have friends there that could help me but in the end, all I could do was take it day by day."

The next thing she knew, Rose had been knocked into Foon and she only barely just managed to keep her foot from falling off its perch. She carefully eased herself off the startled woman who sat up, rubbing her head with a scowl. She looked around for the Doctor and saw him pushing himself up from the floor.

"Mr. Frame, you still with us?" The Doctor shouted into the comms.

"_It's the engines, sir! Final phase. There's nothing more I can do. We've only got eight minutes left."_

"And that's more than enough time. Don't worry."

"_But what are you gonna do?!"_

"It's complicated. Trust me, you'll know." He released the button and around.

"It's ready!" Astrid announced.

"Good!" the Doctor shouted, striding back over the rest of the group "Everyone look after each other. Rickston…I mean it." He pointed at Rose. "One single scratch on her and it's your head. Get her inside the ship, whatever it takes. She's the only other one who can pilot our ship."

"And where are you going?"

"Deck 31. Whoever did all this is down there and if they aren't caught and stopped, they could do it again to another ship."

Everyone was quiet as they realized what this could mean. The Doctor took this last opportunity to crouch next to Rose and gently place his hand beneath her foot. _I'm sorry you got hurt. _

_Occupational hazard_, she thought blithely.

He shook his head and looked like he was going to tell her off so she reached for his lapels and pulled him in for a quick, firm kiss.

_Be careful,_ Rose thought, releasing him.

_I will,_ he replied as he stood. "Now go."

The Doctor turned and took off the way they came and it occurred to Rose right about then that she'd just unceremoniously been handed the leadership position. She cleared her throat loudly. "Right, then. You heard him. Pick me up, Rickston. We gotta hurry."

The man didn't seem too thrilled at being ordered about by a human and even less so to have to pick her up. She wasn't exactly comfortable being in his arms but at least he seemed to know how to hold her steadily.

"Let's go," Rose ordered. "Astrid, you're on point. Any sign of a Host, let 'em have it."

Astrid nodded seriously, holding the EMP tightly in her hands. "Yes ma'am."


	6. Bit of a Rescue

The five of them burst through the doors to reception with Astrid at the head. Inside they found a number of Host lying in wait for unsuspecting survivors. Their hands hadn't even made contact with their halos before Astrid held up the EMP and fired. The bluish light shot out from the device and through the robot, frying their circuits. They collapsed to the floor in fizzing heaps and the Stoans and human breathed equal sighs of relief.

Rickston stepped through the door with Rose in his arms. Her eyes immediately fell on the blue box standing in the corner and she smiled in relief. Everyone else, however, had fallen victim to the perception filter.

"Alright, now, where is this ship of yours?" Rickston demanded.

The door to the TARDIS swung open and Martha Jones raced out, dressed in dark jeans and a very warm-looking burgundy sweater, with a cry of, "Rose!"

As one, all the Stoans noticed the TARDIS for the first time. Mr. Copper stumbled in shock. Foon gasped.

Martha cleared a Host with a single leap and ran over to Rose. "What happened?" she demanded.

"Hey, Martha." Rose greeted, beaming despite the situation. "I kicked a Host off a ledge."

"How bad is it?"

"Bad breaks and a shatter. Right along those middle bones in the foot—what are they called?"

"Metatarsals." Martha sighed. "I swear, if it wasn't breaking the Hippocratic Oath, I'd probably smack you."

"I missed you, too."

The corner of Martha's lip twitched upward.

"Sorry to break up the reunion," Rickston interrupted haughtily. "But we're almost out of time here. And you're getting heavy."

"Yeah!" Rose blurted. She looked around for the podium she hoped was still there. "Foon, I need you to grab like six of those teleport bracelets."

"Why?" She asked but did as she was told.

"Just do it, okay? Rickston—" she looked up at the man "—get me inside."

"This way." Martha beckoned. She ran back to the TARDIS, leaping gracefully over the fallen Host without fear while everyone else skirted around them.

"We can't all fit in there!" Foon protested as they neared.

"Inside," Martha ordered, pushing the door open and holding it for them. Astrid went first, then Rickston with Rose, followed by Copper and Foon last. Every single one of them stopped dead on the ramp, gawking at the ship's interior.

Rose didn't have time to help them process their shock. There was a 22nd century hoverchair waiting for her at the top of the ramp. It resembled a wheelchair from her time with a seat, back, armrests, props for leg, and handles on the back, except instead of large wheels there was something beneath the seat that enabled it to float.

She tapped Rickston on the shoulder and he jerked his awestruck gawp away from the console room to her. She pointed at the hoverchair. "That's for me. …C'mon, you act like you've never seen a dimensionally transcendent ship before."

He blinked rapidly for a moment then strode purposefully up the ramp. He was careful as he set her down into the chair but then Martha was pushing him out of the way to adjust the leg rests for Rose. She wouldn't say it out loud but it was a relief to be out of his arms. There was only one alien she liked holding her, thank you very much.

"Are you healing?" Martha asked. "We need to get this wrapped properly and iced."

"I'm fine, don't worry. The Doctor wrapped it up earlier."

"Where is he?"

"He…went below. Whoever's responsible is still onboard and he means to catch 'em."

"Alone?" Martha demanded. "You let him go—wait. Never mind." She glanced at Rose's foot. "Still, we gotta help him."

"Uh, excuse me?" Astrid piped up. Rose and Martha turned, the latter having forgotten for a moment that they had company. "But, um, aren't we supposed to be towing the ship or something?"

Rose inclined her head towards Astrid. "I want to help but I can't walk and I can't risk the _Titanic _falling while I try to pilot the TARDIS around this ship to find him. Our first priority is to keep the _Titanic _in the sky."

"How?"

"Tether and tow." Rose grabbed onto the joystick sticking out of the right armrest that controlled the chair and steered herself over to the console. Settling the chair in front of the monitor, she flipped the switch that the Doctor had added years ago to change the keyboard from Gallifreyan to English and began typing in the command that would transport the ship five thousand yards to the right and out of the _Titanic._

Martha, meanwhile, scoured the room for the medkit they used to keep lying around. It wasn't in any of its usual places, leaving her to wonder if they hadn't returned it to the infirmary in the intervening time. She didn't know how long it had been since she'd seen them and since Rose had kicked the aging thing it was impossible to tell from just looking at her. Though her hair hadn't been that long or that particular shade of blonde when Martha had seen her last. But the way Rose's face had lit up when she'd first come running out of the TARDIS, Martha guessed it had been a while.

The survivors seemed to have gotten over their shock and had moved into the console room proper. The older man was staring at the console in fascination. The blonde woman slowly spun in a circle, taking in every detail. The younger man in the tux was feigning disinterest but she saw him glancing at the doorway leading into the rest of the ship every so often. The larger woman in purple sat down near one of the coral struts, glassy eyes fixed on the rotor. She looked like she'd been crying a lot and very recently.

_Two dead_.

"Alright, here we go!" Rose warned, her hand over the dematerialization lever.

Martha had never seen Rose pilot the ship by herself before and, no offense to her, but she didn't quite think a human could drive the TARDIS better than a Time Lord. Her eyes widened and with a squeak she dropped to the floor, covering her head with curling her arms around her head protectively. Approximately half a second later it occurred to her that the poor aliens had no idea what was about to happen.

The ship shuddered like a pebble on the road as a lorry drove past. Several of the aliens screamed and she heard at least one of them fall. It only lasted about two seconds before it was over.

"Where the hell did you learn to drive?" the man who'd carried Rose in bellowed. He was half-dangling, half-kneeling from the railing where his arm was looped precariously.

"Right here," Rose replied, shoving the monitor around to the left. She moved her chair around towards the steering controls, pausing to give the monitor another push in the right direction.

"Are you even certified to pilot this vessel?" The elder man asked, on his hands and knees.

"Define 'certified'," she retorted without missing a beat. She checked something on the monitor then began pushing one of the levers forward. The room remained upright, fortunately, but Martha felt the pull of inertia as the ship rocketed forward through space. This part Rose seemed quite exceptional at. She remembered it was just navigating a toy plane. She could probably do it herself.

Deciding it was safe to move about the cabin, Martha picked herself off the floor. It was then she spotted the medkit waiting for her on the jumpseat. She smiled to herself.

The ship slowly came to a standstill and Rose reached for the monitor again. "Let me," Martha said, circling the console. "Where do you need it?"

"By the keyboard." Rose navigated herself back around to where she'd been before. "Almost done. I brought us to the bow, now I just need to activate the tether and we'll be good."

Martha guided the monitor back around to the keyboard. "When did you learn to do all this?"

Rose hummed thoughtfully as she typed. "About…three years ago. I think."

"Three years?!" Martha blurted out. She glanced around quickly then lowered her voice. "_Rose_. How old are you?"

"Er…about 29? Maybe?"

Ooh, that stung. She'd seen them once not too long ago during the brief time she'd worked with Torchwood and Rose had told her then that it hadn't been very long at all for them. Four to five years had passed for them since that day. Four to five years they'd only just now contacted Martha, and only because they needed her help. "I see."

Rose must've heard the hurt in her voice. Her fingers stilled on the keys and she cocked her head to the side. "This isn't the first time I've seen you since. Not even close. Torchwood was the first time. Remember that? And we've visited you loads of times since."

Martha felt herself relax, the pain fizzing out to relief. "Oh. Yeah. Bit of a risk, then, calling me up."

"Not really." Rose resumed typing.

"What about timelines and all that?"

"You just can't tell us about this until—um. Er. Tell you what. Next time I see you, I'll let you know it's safe."

"Got it. Now I want to have a look at your foot."

Rose shook her head in refusal. "Not yet. _Titanic _first, Doctor second, foot third. Foon! Could you bring those teleport bracelets?"

All eyes turned towards the heavy woman who hadn't moved from her previous position. She seemed to be in shock. The blonde alien muttered something then walked over to the woman and plucked the silver cuffs from her lap.

"No," Martha insisted. "You've broken several major bones. At least let me get you some pain medication."

Rose shook her head adamantly. "No. I need to be able to focus. The pain isn't so bad."

"Liar."

The blonde woman appeared on Rose's other side, her hands full of the strange silver bracelets. "What do you plan to do with these?" the woman asked.

Rose flicked a switch beside the keyboard and the room shuttered. She smirked victoriously then sat back in her chair. "That's the _Titanic_ sorted. Can't risk sending you all back yet, not with those Host still about." Rose explained. "But in the mean time—Martha?"

Martha knew what she was going to ask even before she said it. "You want me to go back for him."

"It's gonna be dangerous and I know it's a lot to ask of you…" Rose glanced upwards. "But I trust you more than I trust any of them and I know you can handle it."

"I…" Martha trailed off. Part of her wanted to jump at the chance to do some rescuing, live the adventure once more but the more rational side reminded her that she had a home, family, and boyfriend waiting for her down on Earth. What would happen if she got hurt or worse? How could she possibly explain anything to Tom? Tom, who took every hint of alien mentions with far more than grain of salt. Tom, who thought a job with UNIT was one of the riskiest things she could be doing.

"He's not answering," Rose added quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"Aaand you don't know about that yet." Rose made a face. "I've been trying to reach him telepathically but he's not answering. We could just be out of range but…"

"I'll go." The words slipped out of Martha's mouth before she could change her mind. "But I don't know my way around the ship."

"I'll go with you," the petite woman said. "I was staff. I know my way around."

"You sure, Astrid?" Rose asked.

Astrid nodded. "There could be Host. I know how the EMP works. I can help."

Rose exhaled and Martha half-expected her to puff out her cheeks when she did it like the Doctor did. "Okay. Make sure you take an extra one for the Doctor."

Astrid nodded again and held the bracelets out to Martha. She selected one, Astrid took another, and the others were discarded onto the console for the time being.

Rose started typing on the keyboard more slowly than before, tongue clamped between her teeth. "Do you know what frequency _Titanic _used for the comms?"

"No, sorry," Astrid replied, sliding her bracelet around her wrist. Martha followed suit and tucked the spare in her pocket.

"'s alright. I think there's…another way to… got it!" Rose beamed, proud of her accomplishment, and flipped the button that controlled the speakers. "Hello? Midshipman Frame, you there?"

"_W-who is this?"_ a young man's voice replied a moment later.

"My name's Rose. I'm the Doctor's wife and—"

"Wife?" Martha blurted out.

"—the person who's currently keeping the _Titanic_.iafloat." Rose glanced at her briefly and gave her head a small shake.

"_How? The engines are almost gone."_

"Long story short, we have our own ship that's currently got the _Titanic _tethered, and we're towing you out of the planet's gravitational pull." Rose said briskly. "So, we're safe for the time being. But the Doctor's still onboard and he's not responding. A friend of mine and one of the survivors have volunteered to go back to get him with these teleport bracelets from Reception. I need you to teleport them to Deck 31. Can you do that?"

"_I can't. All the remaining power is keeping the engines going."_

"And you don't need to worry about that. Our ship can keep you in the air without them. Can you work the teleport from there?"

"_Are you within ten thousand kilometers of the ship?" _

"Well within."

_ "T-then yes, I should be able to. Just give me a second to…lock on…" _His voice grew fainter and then Martha heard a tiny grunt of pain.

She frowned and walked around Rose's chair, leaning in closer to the speaker and microphone. "Are you injured?"

"_I'm fine."_

"I'm a doctor. A proper doctor, a physician," she added hastily. "Are you injured?"

"_The captain shot me."_

"Is there a medkit near you? Any sort of first-aid supplies?"

"_Yes."_

"Once we find the Doctor, I'm coming to you." Martha told him, giving Rose a look that dared her to contradict her. Her friend simply nodded, unsurprised.

"_Are your teleports activated?"_ Midshipman Frame asked.

"Oh!" Astrid slid the bracelet around her wrist and it hummed to life. Martha did the same. "They are now."

"_Alright. Here goes…"_

Rose caught Martha's eye in the brief second in between his words and the teleport activation. "Be careful."

Martha was mid-nod when a cold sensation washed over her. The world blurred around her before disappearing. There was a moment of utter darkness and then the world reformed. She shuddered at the sudden teleport and silently thanked her lucky stars that it wasn't like one of the rougher sort she'd experience.

"Are you okay?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah. It's just been a while since I've teleported." She explained as she turned slowly, sizing up their location. Between her year on the run and time with UNIT, the action had become a habit borderline necessity. They were in a room that had probably been nice before the collision. There were no windows or air vents, the only way in a single door a few feet in front of them.

"You don't have teleports on Earth?"

"Not yet." Martha rolled her shoulders. "Let's go."

Astrid opened the door, looking around carefully, then motioned for Martha to follow. The door led into a service hall that looked rather worse for the wear. Pipes split and spewing steam and in one case, liquid; wires dangling precariously, debris everywhere, and at one point…the body of a crewman. Astrid let out a tiny cry at the sight and Martha simply looked away. It sickened her how easily she could just dismiss a dead body but she'd seen so many. Though it did strike her as odd that the man was dressed like a character out of James Cameron's _Titanic_. Astrid, too, looked like she could've been an extra in that film. She'd have to ask Rose later what the deal was so as not to risk offending Astrid.

"So you travelled with them?" Astrid asked.

Martha hummed in confirmation, carefully stepping over a fallen pipe.

"For how long?"

"It's complicated. A year or two."

"You don't know?"

"It's complicated." Martha repeated. The woman glanced at her and Martha saw something in her expression that brought her up short. "You want to go with them."

"I asked. The Doctor was going to say yes, I think, but then some Host caught up."

Martha inhaled slowly through her nose. She'd known they'd probably pick up a new travelling companion eventually but she always thought she'd meet this person well after their journey began. There was an opportunity here she hadn't expected to have. She did not regret her time with them. She'd loved it—well, before the Master came into the picture, at least—but it had changed her. And not necessarily all for the better.

She would have to warn the girl of what she was in for later. Someone had to. Knowing the Doctor and Rose, neither of them would mention exactly what their life entailed until it was already happening.

They continued on their way in silence for about another minute before Martha heard the distinct tones of a certain Time Lord. They followed the sound of his voice down a side corridor, sliding along the wall as they neared the corner from around which his voice originated.

"Hold on! Hold on! Wait wait wait wait wait wait! I can work it out. It's like a task."

The two women peeked around the corner carefully. The Doctor stood, half-bent, with his fingers held aloft in front of him. He was flanked by several Host, all of whom were facing some sort of…cybernetic block on wheels with a bald humanoid head protruding from the top surrounded by glass panels.

"I'm your apprentice. Just watch me." The Doctor said. "So…business is failing and you wreck the ship to make things even worse. Oh, yes! No… _Yes_." His tone darkened the way she remembered it sometimes did upon discovering the dirty truth behind some bastard's villainous plan. "The business isn't failing, it's failed. Past tense."

"My own board voted me out." The bald head agreed. "Stabbed me in the back."

Astrid gasped quietly. "Oh my Vot. That's Max Capricorn."

"Who?" Martha hissed.

"He owns the cruise line."

This was a cruise liner? Martha frowned. She hadn't the faintest idea what was going on here but she knew that, for whatever reason, that thing there was the enemy.

"You scupper the ship," the Doctor went on, "wipe out any survivors in case anyone's rumbled you, and the board find their shares halved in value."

"What is he?"

"A cyborg…apparently."

She licked her lips, pursing them thoughtfully, then glanced down at the EMP in Astrd's hands.

"Oh, but that's not enough," the Doctor growled. Capricorn smirked and shook his head slowly. "No, 'cause if a Max Capricorn ship it's the Earth, it destroys and entire planet. Outrage back home. Scandal!"

"And…" Max rolled towards him. "The whole board thrown in jail for mass murder."

He was going to wipe out the entire planet? Just for some revenge scheme? Martha's fists began to shake with rage. That was her home, her family, her _people_. Her entire race. Her planet. That was mum and dad, Tish, Leo, and Tom. Tom. Tom. Tom.

"While you sit there, safe inside the impact chamber." The Doctor gestured over his shoulder with his thumb.

"I have men waiting to retrieve me from the ruins and enough off-world accounts to retire me to the beaches of Pentaxico Two. Where the ladies, so I'm told, are very fond of…metal."

Martha grabbed the EMP but Astrid didn't let go. "How does this work?"

"He's a person!" Astrid protested as loudly as she dared, trying to pull it back.

"Two thousand people on this ship, six billion underneath us, all of them slaughtered." The Doctor snarled. "And why? Because Max Capricorn is a loser!"

"I never lose!"

"You can't even sink the _Titanic!_ "

"Oh, but I can, Doctor. I can cancel the engines from here!"

Alarms began to blare around them but beyond that, absolutely nothing happened. No rocking or shuddering or any other indications that the ship should be about to lose orbit. The TARDIS was magnificent.

"I'll do it," Astrid said. "Just let go, and I'll do it."

Martha hesitated. "Are you sure?"

Astrid lifted her chin and nodded. Martha stared at her for another moment before releasing the EMP. Astrid readjusted her hold on it then began creeping forwards. Martha followed.

"What's going on?" Max Capricorn demanded. "We should be falling!"

The Doctor laughed. It wasn't one of his nice laughs, either, but hollow, dark, and mocking. It gave Martha chills just hearing it.

"Yeah, but, see, there's one thing you didn't count on." The Doctor stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Me. Right now, the _Titanic_ is currently being towed by a ship far superior than anything you can come up with. Courtesy of my wife. She was injured earlier trying to escape from your little robots. I'm holding that against you as well. The _Titanic_ isn't going anywhere, Mr. Capricorn. You lose."

Martha and Astrid ducked down behind a forklift just a precarious ten feet from the confrontation. She felt the blonde woman trembling beside her.

"Oh, do I?" the man screamed. "HOST! Kill him!"

The two angels closest to the Doctor reached forward and seized him. Alarm flashed across the Doctor's face for a brief moment before being replaced by sneering defiance. Martha tensed as the other angel reached for its halo, obviously a weapon of some sort.

Astrid straightened up and moved from their hiding place. "Mr. Capricorn!" she shouted.

Capricorn looked up in surprise. The Doctor twisted around as best he could in the Host's grip. "Astrid, what are you doing here?!"

Astrid held up the EMP. "I resign!" Then she pressed a button on the cylinder and a bluish light burst forth from it. It expanded, encompassing everything as it flew outwards, passing through the Host, the Doctor, and Capricorn. The Doctor flinched but was otherwise unharmed. The same could not be said for the rest. The Host sparked and fizzed, their limbs spasmed, and the Doctor was able to pull himself from their grasp.

Mr. Capricorn's end wasn't as neat. His robotic cart body sparked and let out streams of smoke. Panels popped and parts flew, lights flickered out, and other bits clattered to the floor. But worst of all was his face: watching it contort and grimace as everything keeping him going systematically failed. Then it simply slumped forward and he did not move again.

* * *

**Next chapter should be the last one :D**


	7. Bit of a Recovery

An hour had passed according to Martha's watch since the death of Max Capricorn. In that hour, the Doctor had successfully sent a mass decommission order through the Host and the murderous robots now lay dormant across the ship…along with the countless bodies of their victims. The day had been won but at a terrible cost and it was a grim reminder to Martha why she'd left this life behind.

When he was finished, the Doctor had gone back to the TARDIS to tend to Rose. In that time, Martha, armed with the ship's first aid supplies, tended to the wounds on Midshipman Alonso Frame, the man responsible for keeping the ship in the air (figuratively) as long as it had.

Alonso was surprised and then pleased to discover she was a native of the planet below rather than a passenger like he had originally assumed. When she thanked him for protecting her planet, whether or not that had been his intention, he blushed brightly and told her it had been his duty and honor and that anyone else would've done the same. She fixed him with a solemn look and told him, "No. Not everyone."

The Doctor returned ten minutes later with the survivors they'd taken on board the TARDIS. He informed Martha that Rose been given a non-narcotic painkiller and was going to continue monitoring the controls until they could get back to help her. Part of her wanted to protest. The injury Rose had sustained was enough to leave a normal person out of commission and by rights Rose should be resting. But she knew the Doctor was more than competent in medicine, more familiar with how Rose's physiology worked than she was, and his judgment on the situation was best.

Martha finished with Alonso then he went to speak with the Doctor and she turned her attention to the ragtag team of survivors. They all seemed worse for the wear (to put it lightly) she didn't blame them one bit. The older man, Mr. Copper, had taken a blow to the head and someone had applied a rudimentary bandage to it. She cleaned the wound and redid the dressing. While she did, he asked her the strangest questions that stemmed from a very inaccurate knowledgebase of Earth and she wasn't sure whether or not to humor him or correct him. The other man, a lofty fellow called Rickston, seemed virtually unharmed and when she'd asked if he needed any medical help, he'd given her a look of distaste and walked away.

The last survivor, a heavy woman wearing an odd purple cowgirl getup, had no visible physical injuries. She just stood there, staring out at nothing with a look of apathy.

"What's your name?" Martha asked her gently.

"Foon," she replied softly.

"Are you injured, Foon?"

The woman's jaw quivered. "No." But she was clearly not unharmed. Martha didn't have to be a doctor to see that.

"Rose said some people had died on the way here." She hesitated, choosing her next words carefully. "Did you…lose someone?"

"M-my husband," Foon whispered. "He just…he fell and…the Doctor _promised_…"

Martha put her hand on the woman's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose the people you're closest to…and I know there's nothing I can say to help. But I am _sorry_."

"Thank you."

Then Martha turned her attention to the last survivor: Astrid. She had barely said a word since she'd killed Max Capricorn. She kept to herself in the corner of the lobby, scarcely looking at the others. She glanced up as Martha approached and gave her a small smile.

"How are you holding up?" Martha asked.

Astrid didn't respond. Martha leaned against the wall next to her and folded her arms to wait. She didn't want to pressure her but she didn't feel comfortable leave without getting an answer because once she got back on the TARDIS, she had no plans of getting setting foot onto _Titanic_ again. She wouldn't put it past a ship like this to have one last terrible surprise in store and she didn't want to be around for it.

"I…think I'll be okay," Astrid replied half a minute later.

Martha nodded slowly. "I think you will be, too."

She swallowed. "Martha…can I ask you something?"

"Well, you just did." Martha cracked a grin at her. "Go on, then."

Astrid looked across the room to the Doctor. "Why did you leave them? I mean, you were with them so long…"

Martha sighed. This was the opportunity she'd been hoping for earlier. She didn't want to scare Astrid away from travelling in the TARDIS because it really wasa wonderful experience and so few were ever given the opportunity. It wasn't something that should be turned down lightly. Astrid just needed to understand what she was getting into, especially now that she'd experienced first hand the kind of situations they dealt with and the choices that had to be made.

"Why did you stop travelling?" Astrid finished.

She took a deep breath and chose her words with care. "I love them. Both of them. They're brilliant, fun, and kind. You've seen it for yourself. They're never afraid to step in and help anyone just because they can. But they're frustrating, enigmatic, and both stubborn as hell when they wanna be and you should be thankful the two of them have got their feelings for each other sorted out 'cos that was a bloody nightmare to live with."

Astrid chuckled.

"They're the easy part," Martha went on. "They can be the best friends you've ever had. Rose is like my sister. The Doctor…I don't know what he is to me, exactly. But he is wonderful. But he's also like fire." She turned her head and when Astrid did the same, she looked her dead in the eye. "And fire's nice. It can save your life…but if you stand to close you'll get burnt."

"Did you?" Astrid asked.

Martha simply nodded.

"And Rose?"

"Oh, completely scorched. But she's fine with that. For whatever reason, this is the life she chose, and she's great at it. In a lot of ways, she's become part of the fire herself. She was meant for this, I think, and she might be the only person in the universe who is. But the rest of us…"

"And that's why you left." Astrid realized.

Martha's pursed her lips and nodded solemnly. "I wish there had been someone there to warn me before I got onboard. I'm not telling you that you shouldn't go with them. I had the time of my life and I wouldn't trade it for anything. But things happened along the way and…" she shrugged. "It changed me. It'll change you, too. You aren't even travelling with them yet and it's already changed you."

Astrid lowered her gaze and did not respond.

"You'll need to decide soon, though. He never asks twice. Just make sure you can live with your decision."

The other woman exhaled loudly through her nose. Martha shrugged off the wall and walked away.

Packing away the medical kit Alonso had supplied her, Martha put the teleport bracelet back on her arm and used it to return to the TARDIS. When she materialized, she found Rose slumped in her hoverchair. Her face was ashen and her expression was one of exhaustion. She glanced up, seeing Martha, and she plastered on one of her winning smiles but Martha wasn't fooled.

"How is everyone?" Rose asked.

"They're fine. Relatively." Martha said, shutting the door, then walked across the room towards Rose. "Now it's time to focus on you. You look like shit. Didn't he give you painkillers?"

Rose's smile melted away as quickly as it had arrived and she allowed her shoulders to slump. "They're not perfect."

Martha stopped a foot away from her, removed her teleport bracelet, and set it on the edge of the console. She took a moment to study her friend. She wore a deep green evening gown that would've fit in with the styles of the original _Titanic _but now bore rips and tatters and, if she was not mistaken, the nasty rip in the region of her leg had blood stains around it_. _The skin underneath looked fine but Martha knew that meant absolutely nothing. Her hair looked like it had been in some sort of bun but mostly hung bedraggled around her face and her makeup had smudged and smeared. Rose must have looked absolutely stunning with the night began but events had taken their toll.

"How are you?" Martha asked.

Rose blinked, stunned. Like she could hardly understand such a simple question. Her eyes flicked downward. "I…" Her shoulders shuddered and when she took her next breath, it was rough and shaky.

Martha closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around her without hesitation. If there was one thing Martha had learned was that Rose's tears did not come easily and after the paradox had begun they became even more infrequent. She was always trying to be strong for others but that could only work for so long. Martha had no idea the time or events that had transpired since this Rose had seen her last, but she doubted Rose had changed that fundamentally since then. And after today, after all the death and destruction and the trauma to her own body…

"It's okay," Martha soothed. "It's okay now." Rose continued to tremble. "It's over."

"It was supposed to just be a lark!" Rose said softly, words muffled by Martha's shoulder. "A little party. Something after a week of bein' stuck in here. Just—just _fun_. B-but it went so w-wrong and—and if we _hadn't_ been here, everyone would be…"

Martha froze. That's right. If the Doctor and Rose hadn't stumbled across this ship, then by now everyone on the planet below would be dead. She would be dead. It was by pure luck that the Earth wasn't more than a smoking heap now. That didn't make her feel any better.

She drew back. "I'm going to go get some supplies from the infirmary, okay? Will you be alright while I'm gone?"

Rose nodded, sniffling. When Martha left, she wiped her eyes furiously with the back of her hand. Now was not the time to be losing it. This still wasn't over yet.

Times like these though were when she remembered just how much she missed having Martha around. They'd had other guests onboard since her departure but it wasn't the same. Not even close. She sometimes wondered if it ever quite would be and highly doubted it each time. The Doctor told her he'd extended a travelling invitation to Astrid but who knew how long the Stoan woman would want to stay?

She looked down at her tattered dress and desperately wished she could change out of it. As the thought crossed her mind, she heard the rustling of clothes and looked up to see a folded powdery blue garment on the edge of the console and a single white sock on top. Her lips parted in surprise and a small laugh escaped. Laughing and crying at the same time, oh she was a mess. Rose wiped her eyes with her hand again and took a few deep breaths.

_Rose?_ the Doctor thought, sensing her jumbled emotions. _You alright?_

_Not even close,_ she replied. _I love you, though._

_Do you need me to come back?_

_Martha's taking care of me. Get everything sorted so you won't have to go back there once you leave._

_Will do. _

Martha returned not long after with a brace that Rose had, unfortunately, used before plus an ace bandage, scissors, and medical tape. Rose sat as still as possible in her hoverchair with her eyes on the monitor as Martha used the scissors to cut through the rudimentary bandage they'd hastily made earlier for the trek to theTARDIS. Martha was careful not to jostle her foot too much but even if she did Rose wouldn't have been able to tell. The painkiller she was on had some icky side effects but her foot was so numb she couldn't even feel her body healing it.

"Can you help me get out of this dress next?" Rose asked as Martha expertly wrapped her foot with the ace bandage. "The TARDIS already provided me something new."

Martha hummed affirmatively. While traveling and especially during their months walking the Earth, they'd gotten more than comfortable enough around each other for such tasks to not be awkward. Even after all this time, Rose was still okay with it.

Martha finished wrapping her foot and applied tape to hold it in place. "Lift your foot so I can get this on." she ordered, reaching for the brace.

"I, um…" Rose tried lifting her foot experimentally but she was numb from pretty much the knee down. Martha saw her struggling and held her lower leg up with one hand and positioned the brace beneath her foot with the other. Easing her foot down into the brace, she folded the front over and adjusted the straps until (Rose assumed) it was securely on her foot.

"There you go." Martha declared as she stood up. "Now how are we doing this?"

Rose showed her how to unlace the gown then sat still while Martha made quick work of it. She pulled her arms out of her sleeves and let it pool around her waist. Martha handed her the powdery blue garment that turned out to be a simple short-sleeved dress. Rose slid it on over her head and then Martha helped her to her feet so the evening gown could fall to the floor. A little bit of maneuvering and the new dress fell neatly to her knees.

She collapsed back into her hoverchair gratefully. "Oh, that feels so much better," Rose sighed.

"Good." Martha smiled. "Mind if I make a call real quick, though? I, uh, should probably tell Tom to not wait up."

"Probably for the best." Rose agreed. "I don't want to promise you we'll have you back before morning just in case it doesn't work."

Martha made a face then excused her self from the console room to make the call. Rose sighed again and shifted around in her chair. She asked the TARDIS for a pillow and the one she used in her bed appeared in her lap, distinguishable by its light pink pillowcase. She put it behind her back and shifted around to get comfortable.

_We're on our way now_, the Doctor reported in her mind.

_Okay,_ Rose replied. _…Wait. We?_

And not a moment later, three figures materialized in the TARDIS just a few precarious feet from her. Rose blinked and the forms of the Doctor, Astrid, and Mr. Copper solidified. Rose sat up straighter in her chair. This was unexpected, Mr. Copper especially.

"What's goin' on?"

"Nothing major." The Doctor assured her. "We're just giving Mr. Copper a bit of a lift, that's all. And Astrid—"

Astrid stepped forward, cutting him off. "I came to say goodbye."

Rose's heart sank. The Doctor told her what had happened on Deck 31 but she wasn't expecting it to completely change Astrid's mind about travelling. "Not coming, then?"

Astrid shook her head. "No. I-I can't. Not after this. I want to, I really do, but I can't go through something like this again. I don't ever want to…be put in a position where I have to kill again."

"I'm sorry you ever were," the Doctor apologized quietly.

"It was my choice," Astrid said resolutely. "And I'm glad I was able to save you and I'm glad you all saved me. But I just can't go. I want to go home. To Sto. I've talked to Foon and we're going to stay in contact. I want to help her. Besides, one of us needs to be able to tell the truth about what happened and I'm not going to let that be Rickston."

"Good thinking," Rose agreed with a nod. This life wasn't for everyone and that was fine. Astrid had made up her mind and Rose wasn't going to try to change it. She smiled at her, held out her hand, and the Stoan woman curled her warm fingers around it gently.

"I'm glad I got to meet you," she told them honestly. "Both of you. And I wish you the best of luck."

"You too."

"I'd say be safe but, uh," she laughed. "I don't think that's going to happen."

"Yeah, probably right," Rose agreed and let go of her hand.

"Will you be alright?" Astrid nodded to her foot, propped up on the footrest of the hoverchair.

"Mmhmm, just a few more hours and I'll be all better," Rose lied. Her physical wounds would heal but the unseen ones left from today would take far longer. "This is mostly just for comfort and safety in the meantime. Though, to be honest, I can't feel a thing." She grinned. "Numb from the knee down."

"And a bit gray," she noted.

"Yeah, there is that. But don't worry—it's safe. I think."

"Just a bit ahead of the times, that medicine," the Doctor reassured them both. "It's quite safe and it's the strongest I've got onboard she can have. She can sleep off the side-effects and will be right as rain in the morning!"

"And…rain is very right, then?" Astrid queried unsurely.

"Well, actually…" the Doctor began then trailed off, looking puzzled. "I honestly don't know where that idiom comes from. Rain isn't particularly right at all. But it's not wrong, either."

"I'll be okay," Rose interjected quickly with a heartening smile. "You don't need to worry about us.

"I think I always will, in some measure," she admitted before leaning down to hug her. "Thank you for showing me Earth," she whispered.

"You're welcome," Rose answered at the same volume.

Astrid pulled away, straightening, and turned to the Doctor. "Well then, Doctor…" she held out her hand. He blinked at it then extended his hand to shake hers. She laughed, shaking her head. "I need your teleport bracelets back."

"Oh! Yes, right." He fumbled with the device on his wrist. "Of course."

Both men removed their bracelets and Astrid plucked Martha's discarded one off the edge of the console. "Well, this is it. …Thank you again. I mean it. Thank you. We'd all be dead without you."

"It was our honor," the Doctor said.

Astrid smiled and pressed a tiny button on her bracelet. "Goodbye, Doctor, Rose."

"You take care, Astrid Peth."

There was a small flash of light and Astrid's form shimmered then disappeared from sight for the last time. Rose exhaled sadly and sat back in her chair. Silence followed save for the hum of the TARDIS around them.

"I think she'll be alright," Mr. Copper said after a moment.

Rose raised her eyebrows at him. "Where are we taking you?"

"I was thinking Earth," the Doctor anwered conversationally. "He actually has a decent grasp of the English language, enough that he could pass for a non-native speaker. Martha or Jack could easily get him the papers he needs. Speaking of the good doctor, where's she gone?"

"She's calling Tom."

"Ah." the Doctor made a face. "It's pre-revelation days for her, right? Ooh, this could be awkward if she misses Christmas. He's not supposed to find out for another six months or so, right?"

"I'd be more worried about Francine. She likes you now but I wouldn't put it past her to have a go at you over this."

"Are all humans inherently violent?" Mr. Copper fretted.

"No," Rose reassured him. The Doctor grumbled something under his breath and Rose raised her eyebrow at him. "We're not, honest. When are we leaving, Doctor?"

"It'll be a few more hours before the tow ships arrive. I think they've even called in the Shadow Proclamation. We'll stay until then. Should be…seven in the morning, London time. You should try to get a nap in the meantime," the Doctor urged, looking over Rose's head. She twisted around and saw Martha standing in the doorway. "Your room should be in the same place, just as you left it."

Martha hesitated. "I don't know if I should."

"If you do, it won't be the last time. Trust me."

She raised her eyebrows for a moment and then acquiesced with a nod. "Alright. I'll do that. Thanks, Doctor."

"And as for you—Rose." Rose turned around. "You need to go to sleep, too. You're exhausted. I can take it from here."

She shook her head. "No. I don't want to sleep right now." _Not by myself_, she added telepathically.

_Okay,_ he thought back tenderly. _I understand_. "I'll go make us some tea then. Ever had tea, Mr. Copper?"

"No, but I've heard it is a delicacy on Earth."

"Not a delicacy, just a very popular drink, especially in Britain. I fear I've gone native in that respect. You'll love it."

The Doctor strode out of the console room, pulling off his suit jacket as he went, leaving the two of them alone together. Rose waited until the sound of his footsteps before turning to Mr. Copper.

"Have a seat," she offered, gesturing to the pilot's seat nearby.

"Oh, um, thank you." He carefully maneuvered around her hoverchair and eased himself onto the seat, shifting around experimentally. When he was situated, she leveled Mr. Copper with a knowing gaze.

"So why are you _really_ going to Earth?"

He chuckled humorlessly and it trailed off into a groan. "Well, let's just say I…it's best if everyone thinks I died in this whole debacle."

Rose cocked her head to the side. Then a conversation from earlier came to mind, when he confessed he was a fraud and had lied to the company. He'd said something about investigations and ten years jail time if he was found out. Running away, then. "So now what? Gonna spend the rest of your life on Earth?"

"I don't see why not. From what I've read about it, it seems like as good of a place as any."

"Um…"

"Though I suppose my knowledge base really is flawed in that regard." He smiled wryly. "Well, if nothing else, it'll be a learning experience, wouldn't you say?"

"But you're gonna need a h-house, or at least a flat, a job, and money."

"Well, I've still got this." From his pocket he pulled a simple credit card. "I brought it for spending money for the passengers so they could purchase trinkets on their shore leave. It didn't get much use I'm afraid so there's still most of it left."

"How much is in the account?"

"Well, I wasn't sure of how the currency worked. I thought a million might cover it."

Rose just about fell out of her chair. "A—A million?! Pounds?"

"Do you think that's enough to get a temporary residence?" he queried, not understanding her reaction.

She let out an unintelligible squeak at first. He stared at her in astonishment. It took her a few seconds to get her voice working but when she did, she stuttered. "I-I…M-Mr. Copper, a million pounds is…it's a _lot_ of money! More than I ever had. Or ever will."

"Really?" He looked down at the card with interest. "A million credits isn't too much at all for us. Petty cash, spending money. I thought they might be similar."

When the Doctor returned a few minutes later with a tray of their tea, Rose blurted out this recent development and he stopped dead in his tracks. "A million pounds?" the Doctor repeated incredulously.

"She says it's a lot of money," Mr. Copper agreed. "I wasn't sure. It was all done for computer."

"Mr. Copper…" the Doctor set the tray down in Rose's lap. "A million pounds is worth fifty million credits."

Mr. Copper drew back, blinking rapidly in surprise. "How much?"

He glanced upwards, mentally running the conversion. "Fifty million and fifty-six."

"I—I've got money," he realized. "Oh…oh my…oh my word. Oh Vot!" He jumped to his feet. "Oh my goodness! I—" he let out a wordless cheer of delight and gave a little hop.

Rose giggled at his glee. She caught the Doctor's eye and saw a familiar twinkle there. At least this terrible day could end with some good news. Mr. Copper's face was alight and far more animated than she had ever seen. She could see it all the things he'd always wanted never had dancing in his eyes. To him, the Earth was a second chance and now he had what he needed to live out the rest of his days comfortably.

"I can have a house, a proper house, with a garden, and a door!" He spun around in delight then seized Roe's hand. "I can have my own bed! A viso-screen! A kitchen with chairs and a table and windows—a dog! They have dogs on your planet, too, right? I've always wanted a dog."

"But first," the Doctor drawled over his jubilant laughter. "Let's find out how you take your tea."

**FIN**


End file.
